Yes, give it water if it doesn't rain. It should recover.

"My inclination is to lightly water the soil (which is not dry)..."

Unless your area experiences a drought, watering an established tree is probably not needed and maybe not even a good idea. If the soil is already moist, adding additional water won't help the tree, but frequent watering could be detrimental to your tree's health. When watering is required, deep watering, followed by periods long enough to let your soil's surface dry, is much better for your tree than frequent, light watering.

Oh yeah, I forgot to say...
Species is actually very important. Oaks range from species that naturally occur in wet or swampy conditions to species that are at home in arid conditions and require very well-drained soil. If your oak is a water-loving type of oak, it might benefit more from extra watering than if it is a type that requires drier, well-drained conditions.

esh, thanks.
Brandon, thanks for the general info. Do you have anything to
contribute that addresses the stated concern?

ID the plant ...

dig a couple holes .. and FIND OUT is the soil is wet or dry ...

and when someones takes the time to reply.. not once.. but twice ...

you thank them.. rather than snarkily implying you are not pleased with his answers..

as most likely you will do with this one also ...

it did not lose its leaves as a water issue ... so whats the point of watering.... though you are correct that fertilizing it.. will not help ...

ken

Brandon have you a precise and correct answer to what appears to your question.

I'd emphasize that if you wish for more information that it is incumbent on you to provide more details. For example....exactly what do you want to know?

YES, your tree may suffer. Defoliation is not usually lethal. Are you looking for suggestions for mitigation?

Four,

Was there something else you wanting to know?

This post was edited by brandon7 on Fri, Aug 9, 13 at 22:25

Four, in the conifer world I hazard to say a spruce dropping or losing its foliage is more threatening than a bald cypress or dawn redwood.

Your zone seems right for an evergreen oak to be a possibility, is yours?

And once again, it may really not matter much. Really what can you do short of glucose or sucrose injections (and try to get THAT right).

> Posted by toronado3800
>
> Really what can you do

- rig a shade (unnecessary, as nobody expressed grave worry about the sun+heat)
- lightly water soil to provide a more readily available first aid drink (nobody said
that it is harmful for this case)

...I would like to encourage you to open up about the identity of your tree.

Look, imagine you had a Taxodium distichum with a that problem and you decide to water it. The chances of over watering it are slim.

Now imagine you have a Pinus longaeva. It would be good to error a bit on the other side.

A darn Lagerstroemia is not going to care about any heat my summer has to throw at it, but winter is when it needs protection. Larix laricina, the opposite.

So, any chance on identifying your tree? Any past pics of its foliage? Any ideas on what ate the leaves? Is it typical for the area? Got any concerns about preventing it from happening again?

The very first word in the original post is "Oak".

Yeah, I was just thinking it might make a difference if it was a live oak or scarlett oak or something. Maybe not, especially since treatment options are limited.

I keep thinking back to watering my metasequoia. It is difficult to overwater it. But I should be more careful watering my scarlett oak.

I did nothing.
Tree is well.