Native Plants
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
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Saturday - June 11, 2011
From: Lott, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Live oak trees and possible drought stress in Lott, TX.
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
One of our Live Oak trees is losing leaves in only a portion of it. I have researched Oak Wilt and I am not sure that is what it has. We have trees that are hundreds of years old and was wondering if the dry conditions could be contributing to this. I have not watered them very much because of where they are. We live in the country and they are in the back of our land.ANSWER:
Mr. Smarty is going to suggest that you contact the folks at the Falls County Office of Texas AgriLife Extension to get a “boots on the ground” assessment of the situation. Oak wilt is always a consideration with Live Oaks, but one of the indicators are fairly distinctive, eg venal necrosis. This link to the Texas Oak Wilt Information Partnership (you may have already seen it) has lots of information about this disease.
The current drought certainly is putting stress on mature oaks, and could be part of the problem you are experiencing. This answer to a previous question has some useful information about water stress.
SInce the damage sounds like it is localized, a possible cause that I have learned about only recently is squirrels. For some unknown reason, squirrels will strip the bark from limbs and trunks of various kinds of trees, including oaks. The resulting damage can cause the limbs to die and loose their leaves. This link describes the situation.
It is important to get an on site evaluation of your problem to find appropriate solution.
More Trees Questions
Privacy screen for barn from Washington TX
April 27, 2013 - We live on a large ranch and have someone now next to us that built a barn on our fence line that we want to make a tree barrier to hide it, so we need to plant trees that will grow at least 15-29 fee...
view the full question and answer
Killing oak sprouts from El Paso TX
August 16, 2011 - I want to know how to kill oak root sprouts and seedlings. Very dense and out-of-control in huge area of front lawn. I had tree cut down and I still cannot get rid of them. They're only getting wors...
view the full question and answer
Pecan tree transplant in Elgin, TX
August 26, 2008 - Hello, Mr. Smarty Plants,
I have a question about how to encourage a very young pecan sapling to grow, and whether I should use mulch to do so. I live in Elgin (Bastrop County) and the soil is extr...
view the full question and answer
Problems with red oak trees in North Central Texas
July 13, 2013 - What is the disease effecting Red Oak trees in North Central Texas; causing them to lose leafs in Spring/Summer and turning the remaining leaves light yellow/lime green in color.
Thank you.
view the full question and answer
Affect of poisonous plant roots in soils for vegetables from Rusk TX
May 11, 2013 - I have a huge old flowerbed in front of my house that I want to plant veggies in, but I'm afraid to. It has a catalpa tree there, which I sell the worms from, but the entire tree (bark, leaves, flowe...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |