Live oak tree loosing leaves (outside to center)....Advice Please!!

[Saltthesnails]

I live in Houston, TX and I planted this Live Oak tree in August of last year (2012). It has done well up until the end of February when it began to start loosing it's leaves. They turn yellow, then brown, then fall off. It seems to be loosing the leaves from the ends of the branches and working it's way to the center. The tree doesn't look terrible, but I want to make sure I do everything I can to keep the tree healthy.

When I planted the tree I had a hole about 3x the size if the ball, I loosened the roots, and I fertilized it. I watered it excessively every day the first few weeks (dripping from water hose for a couple hours), and I have continued watering quite a bit now. I continue to water it at least 1-2 times a week pretty heavy. I have not used any fertilizer, etc. except when I initially planted it.

Is this something that is normal for a Live Oak, or is it a result of too much water, or could it be some kind of disease? Please help me out. Here are some pics:

View attachment 285784View attachment 285785View attachment 285786View attachment 285787View attachment 285788

 

[Pelorus]

Page 12 re. Live Oak Decline sounds possible, but you may also be killing your tree ith kindness via overwatering.
http://www.warnell.uga.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Live-Oak-Keynote-pub.pdf

 

[Raintree]

If the tree was freshly dug & relocated it's now trying to survive on a vastly reduced root system. My first guess is transplant shock, it's been less than a year give it time.

 

[Pelorus]

To rule out overwatering or a perched water table, dig or auger a small dia. hole close to the tree that is the depth of the hole that was dug when it was planted. See if the soil removed is totally saturated or ok. Was the hole dug deeper than the rootball, and soil added at the time of planting?
I'm not familiar with live oaks, but they sure look magnificent!

 

[TheJollyLogger]

To rule out overwatering or a perched water table, dig or auger a small dia. hole close to the tree that is the depth of the hole that was dug when it was planted. See if the soil removed is totally saturated or ok. Was the hole dug deeper than the rootball, and soil added at the time of planting?
I'm not familiar with live oaks, but they sure look magnificent!

They are, and fun to climb! I agree, sounds like too much water.

 

[ROPECLIMBER]

Houston Has a high clay content, if you amended the soil with loam and mulch instead of the original soil the clay surounding it acts like a fish bowl, try digging a hole the depth of the original rootball and bury a perferated pipe so you can monitor the water needs, some times its good to fill the hole up with water to see how well the soil drains before planting,looks like a root issue. Was the tree a container or Balled? the root crown looks a little deep too, in clay soils it is better to plant shallow, and not to amend the hole. I would look at the outer absorbtion roots and see if they are brown or muchy, and if so let off the water and areate the roots, and get a 2" pipe in the hole so you can monitor water up take, and remember less leaves means less transperational pull so less water up take, so dont love it to death with water, Oh and if the entire hole is amended with loam and mulch then it may be nesessary to digg and amend raidial trenches to get rid of the water clay will stay wet for a while and its not usable water as it gets trapped in the small micropore spaces so the roots can't pull it, but its still wet so it rots the roots. hope this helps,
Paul

 

[HuskStihl]

Don't worry, live oaks in Houston lose their leaves in February. You should start seeing tiny buds soon. I like to fertilize mine about this time every year. I probably have 50 on my property 30 miles NW from you

 

[Saltthesnails]

Well it seems I'm in the clear for now. I'm starting to see lots of fresh new buds!! I was worried at first because I thought they would have appeared a lot sooner, but better later than never. It's probably all the crazy weather we've had.

Thanks for all the advice!!

 

[HuskStihl]

Glad to hear it, put some mild, balanced fertilizer our while it's budding, and itll go nuts, in a good way