Helping a client save a veneble oak.

[treesquirrel]

I have taken the time to go out to inspect an old aok for a client which is suffering severely from drought and is dying back rapidly.

The die back of three major runners has occurred over the course of this summer and a good deal of the "green" is dry and just on the verge of turning brown. I estimate 30% of the crown is dead with at least another 10% drying up.

I really would like to have better news for this person however in my opinion this tree is doomed and will not recover.

Other problems include compaction around the base from horse traffic making the soil unable to absorb water very well.

I feel that once the dead limbs break away the tree will become a haven for insects or other nasties. Deadwooding it at this point will remove over 30% of the crown.

Although I am in the removal business I hope someone here can offer some positive insight to this situation. The owner really loves this old tree and I'd like to see it survive.

Thanks in advance for any advice or positive news. I will be e-mailing the client with a link to this thread and invite them to view and/or participate.

Calvin Johnson, aka Treesquirrel.

 

[treeseer]

Deadwooding it at this point will remove over 30% of the crown. .

So why not do it. If the inner bark is dry then get the branches off. It may be over or under 30%; you do not know from the ground. there is an argument for leaving the dead stuff on until the juice in them goes back into the stem but who knows when that process is over.

Speaking of the ground, if the owner liked the tree he would stop abusing the roots. Weed and mulch more key than pruning at this point.

imo the tree is likely to survive (smaller) if the guy will invest in the roots.

 

[treesquirrel]

Speaking of the ground, if the owner liked the tree he would stop abusing the roots. Weed and mulch more key than pruning at this point.

imo the tree is likely to survive (smaller) if the guy will invest in the roots.

Yes, adding a layer of mulch around the tree could help a lot however they will need to fence out the horses to prevent the continuing compaction. I am sure the horses congregate around this tree for shade.

I can certainly deadwood the tree and pull out the other almost dead stuff as well.

Thanks treeseer, I will mention this as a potential plan for recovery.

 

[booboo]

As a general rule, I do not prune highly stressed trees. It only adds additional stress and can cause a flush of new growth that can also die off during drought or, up here, not harden off before winter and die off anyway, in either instance, adding additional stress. If it were my client, I would say to address the compaction problems and add mulch immediately and take a wait and see approach to the crown. By next spring, you'll know how much damage has been done and can take a more certain approach to prune vs. remove. Also, are you sure that it's all drought stress or is there an insect or disease issue as well? Can't tell from the photos and you guys have stuff there that we don't see up here.

Hope this helps...

 

[teamtree]

I agree...address the soil issues first. Vertimulch the roots and lay down a cover of mulch. Fence the tree off from the horses.

 

[Lumberjacked]

I agree with you other guys...its in the soil! Keeping those roots moist is the most important thing. The tree will "move" water and nutrients even if it defoliates to a certain extent. Keeping the xylem and phloem moist is the most important thing. I would get water on it until fall and/or sufficient rain falls. Do not fert b/c you can actually effect the trees ability to go dormant <--not good. The mulch under the canopy is an excellent thing to do before fall as well. Next spring once the buds are starting to break I would water it with Super Thrive and force it to take up the vitamins. An actual fert could burn the roots depending on how stressed the tree really is and the application rate. just my $.02