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| What can I do to take care of them?
This one is a red oak that was planted early this year, I think. I have just been watering it once a week when I water the lawn giving everything about an inch of water. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by Brandon0413 Austin, TX (My Page) on Mon, Aug 13, 12 at 20:20
| And this one is a live oak that was planted about a month ago to replace one that was dying before I moved in. I watered this one about every 2 days the first couple of weeks then backed off to twice a week. But, I missed a watering then went out of town leaving it without water for 7 days and it lost most of it's leaves. New ones are growing and green but bigger ones are still turning brown and dying. My trees are only about 12 feet apart, which I've heard I only need one tree in my small front yard. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Mon, Aug 13, 12 at 22:52
| Hi Brandon. The one with leaves looks pretty good but looks chlorotic, which means that leaves which are supposed to be green are yellowish in color. This very often indicates a nutrient deficiency, quite often one for iron or manganese. While it might seem then that the solution is to provide one or both of those nutrients somehow, more often the solution is to adjust the soil's pH-it's degree of acidity or alkalinity. The usual case is that the pH needs to be brought down to a more acidic condition. Soil sulphur is the material of choice for this. It can simply be spread on top of the ground all around the tree. And while a soil test is the only way to be certain this is the case, applying soil sulphur is inexpensive and will not harm anything, so it's a reasonable starting point I think. Yeah, you could get by with just the one tree in that space, but you could also have two there, especially if they grew up together at roughly the same rate. That way they'd accomodate one another. The choice is really yours on that one. I really have no idea what's going on with the other tree, except to say that some kind of environmental stress is most likely responsible for its struggle. Water is the key and it does sound like it may have gotten quite dry there, no? If there are buds, it may still come around, though you may have to wait until next year to see it happen. +oM |
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| So you only think that your trees will each reach out 6 feet on either side of the trunk? I don't think so! :-) You'll be moving one of them before too long. |
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| I am quite sure the trees will be able to adapt growing that close together. On campus we have what I like to call the "Twins". It is a pair of ginormous bur oaks. They are ~15 feet apart and surely 60+ feet tall. They are the healthiest plants on campus. They make for an incredible statement. Brandon: I'd be relaxed about the spacing. If trees would need or prefer to be fully spread apart we wouldn't have woods. As wisconsitom was saying, the only problem is when you try to get a tree grow underneath another one. |
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| I hate to say it but those lots are way too small for Live oaks and red oaks. That's sort of typical for those types of housing developments. In Austin no amount of sulfur or iron is going to lower the PH of the soil. To add to that the water out of the tap is pretty alkaline so...there are plenty of cool native and adapted plants that would do great there with the added drought adaptive capabilities built in. The best way to water those trees is for you to be on the end of the hose about every two to three days watering the dog out of it. The mulch on the Live oak is way too excessive. That seems to be a new trend that is stupid and unnecessary. |
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- Posted by Brandon0413 none (My Page) on Tue, Aug 14, 12 at 18:59
| wisconsitom, thanks for the detailed response! Greatly appreciated. rhizo, I ain't movin' nothin that sounds like too much work! lcadem, I'd like to see those trees! Thanks for the input. dricha, Your post interests me very much and I would like to hear more about what you would do if you were in my shoes as well as other peoples opinion on the topic. Are you saying you would replace the oak trees with something else? If so, what would you have in mind? |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Tue, Aug 14, 12 at 21:46
| I'd like to comment on that point as well.....that small yards can only accomodate small trees. I believe that in many cases, the reverse is true, that small spaces are best served by tall-growing tree types which, upon maturity, will have their crowns up above all the human activity, serving as a "ceiling" to the outdoor room. A small-growing species, like say, a flowering crab, by very reason of its having a short trunk and a low crown, will forever be in the way of playing with your kids, dog, mowing the lawn, whereas the big oak, maple, etc. will at that point of its life only have its trunk in the activity zone, assuming of course that it has been "raised up" as it grew, which is the usual course of action. Just something to think about. +oM |
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| tom & Brandon, Trees that get about 25 to 35 feet serve those houses much better than either a 90 foot tall Red Oak or 50 foot wide tree in the case of a "Live oak". The other thing is that some people like to garden a little. Large trees need about a 50 x 50 rooting space ideally. Those lots are rather small. Those yards are so small that I'D completely get rid of the lawn and put in a xeric landscape with Agaves, TX sage, Esperanza, a Med. Fan Palm and some smaller trees like Lacey oak, Vasey Oak, Desert Willow. Some of the older neighborhoods near downtown are a great place to drive around and get some ideas. The two better nurseries are Barton Springs Nursery and The Natural Gardener. |
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- Posted by Brandon0413 none (My Page) on Wed, Aug 15, 12 at 19:57
| Thank you both. I just remembered my grandfather lived in a house in Houston and the street was lined with some really tall trees that created a ceiling over the street and front yards. I thought it was really awesome. You have given me plenty to think about. I will take my time, look around my neighborhood, check out some nurseries and decide what I want to do. I've got plenty of other projects going on, though, so in the meantime I will continue to take care of these two trees. |
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