Dying Oak Tree Symptoms and Solutions

Prevent catastrophic damage by knowing when your oak tree is dying. Knowing how to identify when an oak tree is troubled or in decline will help you save it or remove it before causing costly property or personal injury.

fasttreeremovalatlanta.com gathered the following information about dying oak tree symptoms, the diseases, the infestations, and other conditions to help you determine whether to treat or remove your oak tree.

Signs of A Dying Oak Tree

The following are indicators that your oak tree is dying and what actions should be taken to save your tree or remove it.

Tree Boring Insect Infestations

Boring insects like the southern pine beetle, red-headed ash borer, red oak borer, Asiatic oak weevil, and carpenterworms can be identified by the following:

• Small rounded exit holes
• Crown and branch dieback
• Deeply cracked Bark
• Cankers
• Foliage chlorosis and wilting
• Bulging bark (above the galleries)
• Sightings of adults feeding on the tree’s foliage
• Higher than normal squirrel activity
• Woodpecker activity

Many of these visible symptoms occur due to hydraulic failure or girdling caused by the boring insect’s tunneling through the tree’s cambium (xylem and phloem, which transport nutrients and water from the crown to the roots and back).

Note: If left unchecked, many boring insects will re-infest the host tree season after season until killing it.

Tree Boring Insect Solutions

Typically, by the time a boring insect infestation is discovered, it is exceptionally challenging to save the infested tree. The following should be done to contain the infestation:

• Set baited traps to catch emerging adults
• Chemically treat uninfected trees with residual insecticides such as carbaryl or pyrethroid insecticides such as bifenthrin or permethrin
• Carefully prune and destroy all affected branches
• When the infestation reaches the tree’s trunk, removal may be the only option (topical sprays and treatments will have no effect)

Tree boring insects typically attack the trees that are already in decline. You can help neighboring trees by promoting their health and vigorous growth.

Tip: Don’t try to eliminate a boring insect infestation alone. Contract an ISA certified arborist to guide you through your options.

Tree Fungal Infections

Healthy oak trees are highly resistant to fungal infections. That said, when an oak (or any other tree species) finds itself stressed, fungi can successfully attack the tree, making it its host. The following symptoms may indicate an advanced fungal infection:

• Cankers (discolored areas or depressed places on the bark)
• Bark swelling
• Twig and branch dieback
• Partial or total crown chlorosis (yellowing)
• Carpenter ants nesting in the tree (they don’t consume the wood, rather they remove decaying wood to form galleries within the heartwood)
• Mushroom Conks (fruiting structures) growing from the trunk or root flare
• Boring insect infestation••

**Ambrosia, oak wilt, and fusarium are examples of fungi using boring insects as their vector.

Tree Fungal Infection Solutions

Healthy trees are quite capable of compartmentalizing (sealing off) fungal infections. However, when a tree is stressed from drought, nutritional deficiencies, infestations, etc., infections can run wild and quickly overcome the tree. The following can be done to contain a fungal infection:

• Carefully prune and destroy (burn) infected limbs and branches (avoid pruning activities from mid-April to mid-July to reduce tree disease infection and spread)
• Sanitize all equipment before and after use on infected trees
• Nurture the tree, watering, mulching, and fertilizing it to encourage vigorous growth
• Avoid overhead watering or splashing water which can spread infections from tree to tree
• Use an insecticide to halt carpenter ant activities
• Apply fungicides as recommended by an ISA certified arborist
• Treat surrounding healthy trees and vegetation with copper fungicides (to avoid the infection’s spread)

Tip: For carpenter ant infestations, mix equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle, then spray the mixture into a carpenter ant nest. This should eradicate the entire colony.

Note: Most cases of fungal infections producing mushrooms on the trunk or roots or resulting from boring insect infestations will likely require removing the tree.

Brittle Tree Bark and Cracks

As a tree dies, bark may begin to slough off the tree. Verticle cracks may also form along the trunk or along limbs. Observe the following:

• When cracks in tree bark are spotted, inspect them to see if the crack has developed into the tree’s wood.
• Identify cracks that run into external or internal cavities.

Note: As a tree dies, it dries out, leading to such cracks, bark loss, and severe instability. Trees in this condition may suddenly topple, especially during storms.

Brittle Tree Bark and Crack Solutions

When sloughing tree bark and cracks are isolated in limbs and branches, you can do the following:

• Immediately prune out these branches
• Have a tree risk assessment performed by an ISA certified arborist

The urgency to remove this dead wood is to prevent the tree from dropping these limbs on its own (cladoptosis), potentially causing catastrophic damages.

Note: Sometimes, removing dead or dying branches is enough to save your tree or, at least, buy it some time. However, once this condition spreads to the tree’s trunk, it is better to have the tree removed before it falls or collapses under its own weight.

The Tree Is Leaning

Trees are highly efficient at maintaining balance throughout their life. However, severe weather events, root diseases (root rot), or irregular growth can cause a tree to destabilize and lean. Consider the following actions:

• Stake or brace the tree, slowly winching it back to an upright growth pattern (this often works for younger trees)
• Remove the tree before it completely destabilizes

Tip: Corrective actions should be taken under an arborists supervision.

Note: Mature trees that have toppled or suffered windthrow in severe weather or winds are highly unlikely to ever recover.

How To Save a Dying Oak Tree

Sick trees will often display similar signs that a dying or dead tree would, but not as widespread. Not all trees displaying these conditions need to be removed immediately. Some of these conditions can be treated, prolonging the tree’s life.

The chances of saving your oak tree are reliant on your swift action, the amount of damage the tree has sustained, and your contacting an ISA certified arborist as soon as you detect any signs that your tree is in trouble.

Performing regular tree care and maintenance like pruning, disease and pest prevention measures, and correcting poor structural growth or damage will improve your tree’s health.

Dying Oak Tree Solutions

In this article, you discovered information on how to detect the symptoms of a dying oak tree, including the diseases, infestations, and conditions contributing to your tree’s declining condition.

Taking swift action to identify, treat, and get professional help for your tree significantly increases the chances of saving it.

Ignoring the signs of a declining tree leaves it vulnerable to infestations, infections, and structural problems that will lead to its rapid decline and death.

Sources:
agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/landscaping/wood-boring-insects-of-trees-and-shrubs/
canr.msu.edu/news/boring_insects_are_not_boring_theyre_serious_pests
uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1286&title=Key%20to%20Diseases%20of%20Oaks%20in%20the%20Landscape
ceventura.ucanr.edu/newsletters/Vol_19,No4_-_December_200629825.pdf
apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/pdf/10.1094/PDIS-01-13-0056-FE
fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5349700.pdf

Fast Tree Removal Services Atlanta

3379 Peachtree Road #555a, Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 220-9965

Fast Tree Removal Services Dunwoody

2111 Peachford Cir, Dunwoody, GA 30338
(404) 220-9963

To view the orignal version of this post, visit: https://www.fasttreeremovalatlanta.com/dying-oak-tree-symptoms

Warning Signs, Problems and Solutions for Atlanta Trees

There are several dangers facing trees in your Atlanta landscape. The dense foliage within Atlanta, “the city in a forest,” is prone to facing health problems and can need your help.

Infestation, disease, and construction mishaps are causes that weaken and kill trees when they are not properly looked after. Your immediate action when a tree is in decline can be the difference in it thriving or dying.

This fasttreeremovalatlanta.com article identifies tree health symptoms and causes like construction damage, insect infestations, powdery mildew, and then offers easy to perform solutions for each of them.

Declining Tree Health Symptoms

When trees are in trouble, they typically exhibit obvious symptoms telling you that there is a much more significant problem at hand. Some of the more common symptoms requiring immediate attention are:

Dieback – This is a symptom of, soil compaction, infestation, disease, or girdling and occurs when the foliage, branches, and twigs begin to die from the outside in towards the trunk.

If not quickly addressed, large branches and entire portions of the tree will die and become brittle, potentially falling without forewarning.

To identify an insect infestation, look for entry and exit points appearing as rounded holes with either sawdust (pitch) or sap blow the hole.

Stunted Growth – When a tree is under stress from an insect infestation or disease, smaller foliage and reduced growth may occur. Often, the crown will be disproportionate with smaller and fewer leaves on one side.

If left untreated, the tree’s health will continue to decline, leaving it susceptible to multiple infestations, and eventually lead to its death.

Premature Leaf Drop or Late bloom – A deciduous tree stressed by compacted soil, severe infestation, disease, or partial girdling may drop its foliage in late summer before other trees, or may not bloom until late in the spring.

Stressed evergreen trees may lose more foliage than usual in late summer and fall, along with signs of chlorosis (yellowing of foliage).

This is an alarming sign which underscores the severity of what is happening within the tree and must be quickly addressed to save it.

Drooping Crown – A common symptom of soil compaction is when your tree’s crown appears to droop, or the foliage appears to be wilted.

This soil condition may cause irreparable damage to the tree’s root system resulting in hydraulic failure (when the tree can no longer transport water and nutrients to and from the roots) and eventual death.

Tree Problem – Construction Damage

Construction damage can be soil compaction from transiting or parked vehicles and heavy storage or waste containers left under a tree. Bark damage leading to partial or complete girdling may result from leaning equipment or being struck by vehicles.

These issues are not limited to construction sites, the integrity of the soil and trunk of your tree are vital to its survival and should always be protected.

Construction Damage Solution – The City of Atlanta has specific guidelines on tree protection for construction sites which must be implemented. The failure of a company or person to adequately protect trees on a commercial or private construction site may be met with steep fines, and in the case of a lost tree, a tree recompense and fine may be assessed.

In the case of soil compaction, it can be challenging to save a tree’s roots. Depending on the size of the tree, 15 inches to 3 feet of new topsoil may be required to counteract the effects of it.

Read more about reversing soil compaction here ecolandscaping.org/01/soil/dealing-with-soil-compaction/

In the case of bark damage and girdling, if the damage is severe enough that it cuts through the xylem and phloem around the majority or entire circumference of the trunk, the tree may already be dead.

In situations with lesser damage, bark patches have a better chance of restoring the flow of water and nutrients from the crown and roots. Uncover further information on bark damage here fasttreeremovalatlanta.com/handling-tree-bark-damage

Tree Problem – Insect Infestation

The healthier a tree is, the easier it can repel attacks from boring insects. Likewise, these pests will typically target trees in a weakened state of health. However, when the insect population grows and trees become limited, they will target and successfully invade healthy trees too.

Some beetle species will burrow into the heartwood and nest deep within the tree. Beetles carry fungal spores with them which germinate within the tree providing nutrients for their offspring and ultimately causing a fungal infection which further weakens the tree.

As their numbers grow, infestations can easily devastate entire urban landscapes, inflicting irreparable damage to multiple trees of all sizes and ages.

Insect Infestation Solution – When caught in its early stages, an insect infestation is easily managed through the use of insecticides, traps, and the removal of infected limbs or the source tree in its entirety.

In any case of an insect infestation, call a tree professional for expert advice on types of treatment and how to protect surrounding trees. The web, in addition to the insect can lead to tree disease or death. To learn more, read fasttreeremovalatlanta.com/insect-webs-tree-decay-disease-death

Tree Problem – Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is a fast-spreading fungal disease affecting a wide range of trees and plants. It commonly has the appearance of white powder stuck to leaves riddled with black spores.

This disease is difficult to control, as it is spread by wind, splashing water, insect, wildlife, or human activity.

In severe cases when enough foliage is covered by the disease, the host tree’s capacity to photosynthesize can be significantly reduced causing deficiencies and weakening the tree’s health, leaving it vulnerable to infestations and other infections.

Powdery Mildew Solution – Halting and preventing powdery mildew can be as easy as watering your trees. The following tips will help you quickly gain control over this disease.

• Neem Oil – Spray affected and surrounding foliage with a neem oil solution (2.5Tbsp per gallon of water) weekly.
• Home Remedy – Spray affected and surrounding foliage with a solution of 1Tbsp of baking soda and 1tsp of liquid dish soap per gallon of water.
• Garden and Pruning Equipment – All equipment used on infected plants and trees should be thoroughly washed then rinsed in a bleach solution (1/8 cup bleach per gallon of water). Alcohol may also be used in place of bleach (1 cup alcohol per gallon of water).

In cases where 25% percent or more of the foliage is infected, call a tree professional to offer suggestions for a more aggressive approach to controlling this disease.

For more on tree disease control and prevention, read fasttreeremovalatlanta.com/5-tree-shrub-disease-prevention-tips

Protecting Atlanta’s Tree Canopy

Don’t let your trees die needlessly. With so many trees in an urban setting, accidents, infections, and infestations are bound to happen, are you ready for them?

In this article, you discovered how to identify the problems and symptoms of a troubled tree, like construction damage, girdling, insect infestations, powdery mildew, and how to effectively treat each of them.

Your failure to act when your trees are injured or ill can result in their death and toppling. Avoid catastrophic damages and potential fines or recompense from the City of Atlanta by taking action while you still can.

Sources:
http://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1238&title=Common%20Landscape%20Diseases%20in%20Georgia
http://newswire.caes.uga.edu/story.html?storyid=5161&story=Fig%20Pest
https://www.atlantaga.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=1538

Fast Tree Removal Services Atlanta

3379 Peachtree Road #555a, Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 220-9965

Fast Tree Removal Services Dunwoody

2111 Peachford Cir, Dunwoody, GA 30338
(404) 220-9963

To view the orignal version of this post, visit: http://www.fasttreeremovalatlanta.com/warning-signs-problems-solutions-atlanta-trees