Dying White Oaks?

[WillClimb]

I have a friend who wants me to prune these two white oaks in his yard. I went and looked at them the other day and I cant figure out what their problem is. My first thought was to remove them. They're nice, tall trees but they have dead, weathered looking limbs all over them - like they've been dead for awhile. The dead limbs are silvery in appearance like aged cedar. The only foliage is sparse and is close to the trunk in little patches. I've noticed a lot of trees in the same neighborhood like this. There are live oaks doing the same thing.

So, is there a good way to determine what's causing this? Would fertilizer injections help? And would they just be a band-aid instead of taking care of the source problem?

I read in Tree Care Industry Volume XII, Number 11 - November 01 where a tree that had yellowing leaves was given an innoculation of mycorrhizal spores with a humate application to stimulate root growth. They said that, "the results were almost immediate." Would this be an option and is it something that I could perform without prior years of study?

The soil in the area contains a high amount of clay and is located in Charleston, SC. Some of the other trees that look like this are in neighbors's yards, yet others are in uninhabited fields.

Thanks - Will

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

When I look up and see crown dieback, the first thing I do is look down. It is almost always damaged root zone. White Oaks grow slow and die slow, it seems. Damage to roots may not show up in the crown for 5 to 8 years and those branches you mentioned might have been there for years, so consider damage that might have been done 10 years ago or more.
When was the house built? Where is the septic? was any trenching done? How about grade changes? Is there lawn under the trees and how was it installed? Remember that about 90% of tree roots are in the top 12" of soil. Here in wisconsin white oaks are sensitive to compaction and they rarely do well in lawn areas, long term.
Fertilizing should only be done after a soil test, and only if something is deficient. The only studies supporting mychorizal benifits are from the companies that sell the stuff. If the trees are as bad as you make them sound, these steps would be like draging your feet on the ground to try to stop a car which is careening out of control towards a tree.(too little, too late)
What percentage of the crown is dead?

 

[WillClimb]

Mike, I would say that about 50-60% of the crown is dead. And the only thing that is strange, concerning the building of the house and septic tank - which I will check into, is that there are other trees around, in fields, that are doing the same thing. I mean, I guess it's possible that those fields used to be woods, were then clearcut except for large trees, and all of the heavy equipment caused soil compaction and root damage.
I'll take these trees down in a minute because they're definitely uglying up the yard, but I still wonder what would cause this.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I don't know if Oak Wilt is in your area, but that cold be a possibility. When we see oak wilt here, it progresses through an area. You see the movement of the disease from tree to tree, the first infected completely dead or gone(stump), then trees recently dead, then trees just flaging.
If all the trees are at the same stage of decline, that would point to some kind of environmental damage that occoured at the same time. Could the developer stripped the topsoil?

 

[PBMan]

If you will recall, the Charleston area was hit by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. If the winds did not topple the trees, could it be possible that the storm surge, which reached up to 18 feet just north of the city, brought enough salt water to damage the roots and cause this?
I think maybe you need to research this thoroughly before making any decisions. In fact, since the trees might be on the decline you may want to consider pruning those trees for free!

 

[WillClimb]

Geez, this PBMan dude acts like I'm pruning HIS trees or something. Listen here PB (what is that, peanut butter?!?), If you think I'm trimming your trees for free, maybe you should ask the guys on this site how much the job should go for. Tell him fellas. Here's the lowdown:
* Hardly any suitable crotches to throw a rope into
* Once I do get tied in, the branches aren't trustworthy enough to walk and should probably just come off
* If I remove all dead wood, we'll have a telephone pole with what looks like vines growing up it
* The trees are about 50 - 70' tall

So what would you guys charge? By the way, PBMan is the guy I'm doing the trees for if you haven't figured it out yet. I'm only giving him hell cause I know him. So be easy on him.

Possibly a good point abougt Hugo, though?

 

[PBMan]

You bring up some good points, WillClimb.
Another point would be to hire someone that won't COMPLAIN so much!

 

[WillClimb]

Go ahead, but they'll charge more for not complaining.

 

[WillClimb]

Actually, concerning the storm surge, if that were the case then all of the trees anywhere in the area would've been affected. I've seen some older live oaks in the area that look fine.