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We are having a prolem with our red oak losing branch tips, some pieces are about 2' long. They just seem to snap off. I have gone out and looked for signs of insect, holes in the bark or damaged leaves but have seen nothing. There are 2 other oaks in the area that are o.k. Here are some pictures.
The discolored leaves may be due to the winds we are having.
Right now it is very dry here but in the spring we got a lot of rain very fast. DH thinks that may have caused rapid, weak growth. What do you think? Marg |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Jul 6, 12 at 12:28
| if it were a very clean cut.. i would suggest squirrels making nests.. though i am not sure if it is that season.. but with squirrels.. who the heck knows what they are thinking most of the time ... if its twisting damage.. i would try to remember the last big wind storm that blew thru ... understanding it might take a week or two for the leaves to brown enough to 'see' the damage .. no bug is going to effect ONLY branches that size ... if it were bugs.. it would be much more generalized damage to the whole tree ... otherwise.. that last pic.. looks like a lot of my drought damaged leaves.. its just cosmetic.. but i dont know what the one half leaf thing is in the pic above the last ... as to DH theory.. i am not aware of oaks.. having weak growth .. but who knows.. i still vote for forgotten wind storms ... ken
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| Your comment about squirrels reminded me of a tree we had a couple of houses ago. It was a sweet bay magnolia about 6 inches on diameter. It was over 30 feet tall but there were no branches. We had several other sweet bays on similar diameter in the yard but they looked like trees should. After puzzling about it for several years I looked out the window on day and saw a squirrel cutting the leaves from that tree and taking them up to her nest. I never did figure out what the squirrels thought was special about that tree, it was not especially closer to their nest than other sweet bays. |
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| I agree with squirrels. As for the leaf damage, the tree is already suffering from chlorosis, making the leaves more vulnerable to windburn and sun scorch. For Red Oak in 5a Ontario, this is usually a result of highly compacted clay soil or very wet soils. |
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| Wow, that thing is either extremely nutrient difficent (many times girdling is the issue) or its simply chlorotic. Are you aware if your soil if very alkaline? |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Fri, Jul 6, 12 at 17:58
| Definitely what I noticed-the extreme chlorosis. The little branch tips thing is insignificant. Have your soil's pH checked. I'd wager it's well above neutral-ph of 7.0-and that tree is having a hard time acquiring enough iron and/or manganese. BTW, modern scorched-earth yard care practices can alone give this result. Mulching leaves back into the lawn-if you don't already-would be the first change to make. +oM |
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