Any arborists here?

[stonewall]

I have a couple oak trees that are looking poorly. They have had root disturbances which I assume is the cause. First one has an electric line that was buried near it. The second is close to our newly constructed house and back patio. Is there anything I can do to help them out or are they ultimately dying?
Thanks in advance

 

[Heath Hansen]

I’d have them crown cleaned and then consider a fertilizer.

 

[KsRancher]

I am not an arborist. I am a logger so cutting trees down in my thing. But I love trees. I have planted almost 100 trees on the 3 acres I live on. In my opinion those trees are are on the way out and not coming back. Sure, there are things you can do to prolong it. But I would spend the money to try as it will be money down the drain.

 

[MTtrout]

Did the die off start this year or has it been gradually going? The top down decay is probably from the root disturbance giving the tree a lack of nutrients and water. Hard to say from the picture but the short bushy grow around the top dead areas looks like it could be new grow but maybe that’s not the case.

I’m not an arborist but if it was my tree and I DIDN’T think it was due to pest or disease I would give it a year to see how it recovers before cutting to much crown off.

 

[stonewall]

Construction started in 2021 (that’s when trench was dug). And we moved in summer of 2022. That’s when slab was poured. I only started to notice the dead tops. But that could be my lack of awareness. If I cut dead parts off now, I’m assuming I should seal it to avoid oak wilt?
And how do you fertilize a tree?
Thanks yall
Better pic of how close patio slab is

 

[WeiserBucks]

I worked for a tree service years ago. I don't know about Texas oaks but my opinion is you're likely to spend $$$$ trying to save em and then 10x more getting em removed once they die if you can't do it yourself.

 

[dtrkyman]

Limestone under that driveway? I heard that can cause issue with oaks.

 

[SonnyDay]

I am also not an arborist... but have planted/grown/tended/pruned/logged lots of trees. I would cut off all the dead now--assuming you can do that yourself and not pay someone. See if they come back after a year or two. Occasional deep watering will help establish new root systems--and remember the roots go far, far beyond the base of the trunk (hence, your problem resulting from the patio and trench).

If they don't come back, or you'd have to pay lots of money for someone to prune them... cut 'em down. It looks like you have other healthier trees nearby that can fill the void in terms of shade.

 

[Heath Hansen]

With that construction being fairly recent, you may be dealing with a soil compaction issue. If that’s the case you may need to do some deep soaking to get water/nutrients down in to the roots.

 

[JustABritCrazy]

Forester here. Mature oaks don’t like to have their root systems screwed with. Definitely construction damage from both the trenching and soil compaction from construction. The closer to the trunk, the more serious the impacts. Hopefully you didn’t addd any fill over top the existing roots, even 4 inches will be enough to kill the tree. You can try reversing it by fertilizing with a 10-10-10 at a rate of 2 lbs per 1,000 square feet of crown. Place it about 5 feet either side of the drip line. Might want to try a deep watering also if it gets droughty. At best 50/50 keeping them alive. Crown death leads to root death which leads to more crown death in a vicious cycle.

 

[The Harbor Master]

Unrelated, but I read the title of your thread as "abortionists" and thought this would be a VERY different thread.

 

[SonnyDay]

Unrelated, but I read the title of your thread as "abortionists" and thought this would be a VERY different thread.

I mean... if you are pro-life, you will do everything you possibly can to save those trees.

 

[Jimmy]

I'd cut off the dead growth, whatever is dead and brown under the bark. Then plant some new oaks nearby and get them started just in case. Oaks usually aren't a fast growing tree.

 

[doc holiday13]

Take it down or it'll come down when you don't want it to. A little bit of rigging and a good tree guy goes a long way. Don't need to take the whole thing down but that could be prolonging the inevitable, but getting rid of some of the waaay off kilter branches will make it so you can take it down on your own later down the line

 

[Dave_]

Looks like your in Central TX? The big freezes/ice storms in 2021 and 2023 along with droughts in between have also done a number on the trees around here. I see a ton of trees that look like that in central Texas. I'm sure the construction didn't help either.

I'd look up your forester from the Texas A&M Forest Service and get their opinion. I wouldn't call a random tree care company, they'll probably just say cut it down to get more business.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[backcountry_hunter]

that's not oak wilt and if oak wilts a concern in your area you'd be better off to wait until your outside of the infectious season (not sure what that is in TX but you're almost certainly already in it). Oaks like that around here are either twoline chesnut borer or disturbance.

it looks like classic TLCB with dead tops and plenty of green in the center of the tree but given the recent build, I'd wager on disturbance.....