Today I read about this very issue on the Whatsthatbug site. Here is what they said about figuring out if it's chinch bugs or sod webworms: "I can think of three possible culprits for your St. Augustine grass problem, the likliest one being the chinch bug, Blissus insularis, small gray-black insects that suck plant juices from grass blades, especially St. Augustine grass, especially in hot weather. To confirm chinch bugs, according to the Western Garden Book , push a bottomless can into the soil just where the grass is beginning to turn brown. Fill can with water, If lawn is infested, chinch bugs will float to the surface. Diazinon and chlorpyrifos are chemical controls. According to Hogue, the Southern Chinch Bug feeds on several grasses, but Saint Augustine is by far the preferred host plant. The insect's feeding may cause considerable damage: the grass becomes dwarfed, turns yellow and then brown, and dies. Because of the tendency of the species to form aggregations, the symptoms of attack are usually visible in scattered patches. The species is not a native. It first appeared in the Los Angeles area in the late 1960's, having come from the southeastern states. It produces two generations per year and is most abundant in midsummer. Two additional possible culprits that require the same chemical control are Sod Webworms and beetle grubs. If you see whitish to buff colored moths flying around the lawn in a zigzag pattern at night, check for their larvae. To confirm Sod Webworms, drench area of lawn with a solution of 1 tablespoon dishwashing soap diluted in 1 gallon of water. Larvae will come to surface. Treat if there are 15 or more webworms per square yard." Here's the web page - scroll down towards the bottom to read the letter. Deanna Here is a link that might be useful: Whatsthatbug

This foliage should'nt be affected by last winter, they put out new foliage in the spring anyways. This is August 19 now, those leaves have toughened up already. If you can't tell there is a problem without really looking hard, and it is the last couple leaves on the end, I wouldn't be too worried. But if the problem spreads, that's another story. I am not knowledgeable enough to say it won't spread, but it could be an insect problem that will not get any worse. Bugs eat leaves. I would'nt worry yet. If things get worse you may see the insect (if that IS the problem) I admit I can't grow the LIVE OAK TREE here, without die-back, but they put out new leaves in spring and they toughen up in late summer, only bugs eating them or some serious wilt problem should be able to make them wilt. I would bet that in the unfortunate event that a bug would defoliate a tree. They just may come back strong next spring. I hope you can ID the pest, if it does defoliate your tree enough to notice without having to look for it very hard. I don't think you would have a bad problem with the damage you see now, though.

and they could have been dead or nearly so before they were planted due to improper care somewhere between the grower and being planted - ie: some big box stores. I have a friend who is a seasonal manager for a big box store and they have contracts with some suppliers for which they don't pay for plants unless they sell them - so no real need to take the extra time(labor cost) and material(water costs) to make sure the plants live. My thoughts on buying from big box stores is to buy the day the truck delivered the plants - otherwise it's a crapshoot. Marshall

People have asked about dying red-buds on the internet for years. These trees have certain environmental parameters and can blight off badly if conditions aren't right - failures of recent plantings in particular are high, judging from all the queries that have appeared. Two well-established 'Forest Pansy' in my neighborhood have disappeared within the past few years. Some time ago it was stated on one of the threads that a local gardening media personality had announced that these were "all dying" here. Verticillium wilt has been mentioned frequently as a cause of dying back of red-buds. If you are interested enough you might want to try getting help from your local Cooperative Extension office in finding out what, exactly is diminishing yours.