Native Plants
![](../_images/smarty_plants.gif)
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
![](../_images/mr_smarty_plants_logo_web_200w.jpg)
rate this answer
![](../_images/star_43.gif)
Saturday - June 19, 2010
From: Kempner , TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Diseases and Disorders, Pruning, Transplants, Trees
Title: Ash tree dying back to lower sprouts in Kempner TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
My 2 year old ash tree leaves dropped, appears dead, branches dying. New growth near base of tree. Do I cut upper trunk or remove entire tree? My other ash is doing well.ANSWER:
There are 9 members of the Fraxinus genus (Ash) native to Texas; we are guessing that you have Fraxinus texensis (Texas ash). This USDA Plant Profile shows it growing in and near Lampasas County.
When you say 2 year old trees, did you mean that it had been planted from a seed 2 years ago, or you purchased a small tree and it has been in your garden 2 years? It sounds to us like transplant shock, either planted in hot weather without adequate watering, or root damage. The sprouts coming up from the base of the tree are growing off the roots of the tree, which means the tree itself is still alive. Since this tree often grows as a multi-trunk tree, we believe you could encourage those sprouts to grow up and be one tree. The "central leader" or the upright trunk that was the original tree may still be alive. Try scratching the bark with your thumbnail, just a little sliver, and see if there is a thin green layer beneath. If there is, we would suggest pruning and trimming back the branches that appear to be dead, but ensure that there are enough green leaves left somewhere, either on the upper branches or the sprouts, to provide adequate nourishment for the tree. Do not fertilize.
Because the extreme heat of the Texas Summer is now upon it, we don't recommend doing any pruning or trimming except to prevent a dead branch from actually breaking off. Be sure the tree is adequately watered, and wait to see if it will develop multi-trunks, or if the whole tree is just going to die. Ordinarily, we recommend trimming about 1/3 of the upper portion of a tree or shrub in transplant shock, but we are having trouble visualizing how much of an upper part your tree has. If the other ash tree is doing well, are there differences in the locations, water availability and sunlight between the two trees? That might give you a clue to the problem. We would also suggest you mulch the roots of both trees with a good quality shredded bark mulch, to protect the roots from heat, hold water in the soil and, as it decomposes, adding organic matter to the soil to assist in drainage.
From Our Native Plant Image Gallery:
More Transplants Questions
Buffaloberry from Grandma
June 25, 2008 - I have a "BUFFALO BERRY" that my Grandma brought back from South Dakota.It is approx.8yrs.old.All was well until this spring.It was budding out when we had a very hard freeze and got 3" of snow.Now...
view the full question and answer
Propagating Dakota vervain (Glandularia binpinnatifida)
August 07, 2008 - Dakota Vervain.
We recently moved into a new house in Henly--Hays/Blanco county line. Mother nature was kind enough to provide us w/Dakota Vervain in some of our planting beds while we are getting...
view the full question and answer
Failure of older branches on Bauhinia lunarioides to thrive
April 27, 2008 - We planted a sapling of the Anacacho Orchid Tree (Bauhinia lunarioides) winter (Jan, Feb?) and now it has leaves and blooms - but only off of new branches near its trunk, as the old branches haven't ...
view the full question and answer
Viability of Texas Mountain Laurel in Louisiana
March 19, 2008 - I just returned from a visit to Austin and I saw the Texas Mountain Laurel everywhere. I live in the Baton Rouge, LA area and would like to know if performing some soil amendments would allow me to gr...
view the full question and answer
Native wildflower garden for Pennsylvania
May 21, 2008 - Hello, I am interested in making a garden, and I would like to use only or mostly native wildflowers in it. Do you have any good suggestions for wildflowers that I can transplant from places where the...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |