Unhappy Valley Oak

[davidl83]

Planted this valley oak in the backyard this April in our backyard -- northern California, east bay, clay soils. Thrived in the spring but has become fairly unhappy. Leaves discolored and dropping. Photos attached.

Rest of trees and plants we put in around the same time (manzanitas, sycamore, coast live oaks, etc.) have done just fine.

Any theories on what might be causing this and recommendations on what to do?

Many thanks for your thoughts!

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[Raintree]

Can't open any of your pictures.

 

[davidl83]

Sorry about that. Let me try again here.

 

[Raintree]

First thing to look at is the root collar. Expose the flare and take a few pictures.
What is your watering schedule?
Why is the tree staked?

 

[davidl83]

Thank you @Raintree

Attached is a photo of the exposed root area.

I also attached a couple of neighboring trees that we planted at the same time. This shows that just about everything but the valley oak seems to be pretty happy right now.

Watering is very infrequent. We watered heavily a few times upon planting, and it has been sporadic ever since. My understanding is that the heavy clay soils in our area retain a significant amount of water and that supplemental water is not particularly necessary. If the valley oak needs a lot more water than the nearby coast live oaks and sycamore (which seem to be thriving), then the issue with the tree could be insufficient water.

The trees are all staked because that's how they came from the nursery, and our landscaper said we should keep them staked for a year or two while their roots get more established. That also could be wrong.

Thanks for your feedback!

David

 

[Raintree]

If I were to guess it's the watering schedule. You're letting a new tree dry out for too many consecutive days. Increase watering to once a week, monitor soil moisture.

 

[GusGus2020]

Just because clay soil may hold moisture longer doesn’t necessarily mean that the moisture is available to the tree - the root system isn’t very developed at this stage, given that it was recently planted. I’d second the approach of @Raintree - monitor the soil moisture, water accordingly, and potentially look at amending soil in the vicinity of the tree to encourage faster root growth and maintain some better-drained soils. Once the tree gets established it should be pretty hardy - those valley oak can go long stretches without precip in their native range (Central Valley, Mediterranean climate).

 

[davidl83]

@GusGus2020 and @Raintree -- thank you for your thoughts. We'll do a nice soak and go to a more regular watering schedule, and see what happens.