Oak tree canopy thin / water pooling between trunks

[Bankswizzle]

Whats good everyone! Hope lifes treating you well.

Just thought i would ask you guys opinion of what is happening with my 50 year old (maybe older) water oak tree i have. I think i pretty much got it together from the endless stress of self research, but am definitely open to opinions! I apologize for the length of this in advance, i just wanted to give the best info possible.

I noticed last year a little bit, but this year a bit more how the canopy of the tree has started thinning out. When i looked around, i found two things: There was water pooling in the center of the tree, and it looks like it has made a path between two of the trunks that grow together (path is on second image, goes down and to the right and the exit point is the third image), and i found there were roots that were girdling around the base. There is one in particular that has gotten a decent size (4th photo), but the other is not too big. They are not connected to each other, and there are two more growing on another part of the tree that are about 1/4" in thick. I know the water pooling in the center has to have went on for quite a while for how old the tree is, so i was worried it may have done a decent amount of damage. It doesn't appear to have from the outside, and the cavity shown in the photo isn't really deep, and does turn solid after about 2-3 inches. I think it may have just found a cavity and started draining, but i could be wrong.

I figured mostly that the girdling roots are the primary problem, but wonder what other knowledge there is with water oaks and this issue presenting. I have two other water oaks that are about the same age that seem to be doing well. The canopy of this tree doesn't have a lot of obvious dead branches attached, just those not producing leaves. They look to be healthy and only a few look to be turning dark, and not too many were completely leafless. Some branches produce leaves on some limbs and not on others, with the majority producing on the outer edges. I counted maybe 4 or 5 that i could say were truly dead throughout the canopy that haven't broke off. Most of the stuff that falls is smaller branches or small leaf segments. I do know the other trees roots sit more above ground than this one, but with the level of the ground i couldn't do much to dig down into that without risking hitting something or creating an area for flooding.. The last photo is when looking straight up. I noticed one side of the tree really isn't bad at all (facing south, far right side of image), but this one is the side that faces the west (direction of winds and sunset, left side of image and what you see in the first image) and looks to be the worst. With the leaves that have gotten from wind, i don't see any considerable damage to them other than a few curling, looking slightly scorched. There is a bout of oak leaf blisters, but that happens often and all the trees seem to get it and then recover. I do not see any signs of fungus or bacterial infection, though i did notice it had quite a few carpenter ants. I have baits out for them now and hope that helps, maybe you guys have another method i could use to get them out quicker.

It could be a combo of the tree getting strangled and getting old in general, plus the ants starting to make a home in the tree. Usually only once or twice a year a noticeable size branch would fall, but i think that would be expected with an old tree like this. There is also the concern of the two trunks and if one may fall, but it doesn't look like its gotten too deep (they are physically two separate trunks after all, but just think the one on the left might fail). The back side of it (photo 2) isn't split at all. I stuck a small screwdriver through the gap you see in the 3rd image above where the water empties out and it only went about an inch in at the deepest point. I have been researching tree straps and a way to put a tow line between the trunk on the right that would most likely succumb to damage and across to the main trunk of the tree that is the biggest.

I know thats a lot, and i might have a few more things to ask, but i appreciate any feedback and help! I have an arborist coming out soon but i haven't got a date yet on that. Where i live, its kinda hard to find people that either don't rush through the work or invest time in telling you what you need to know, so i just like to be ahead of the curve. I definitely want to shrink the girdling roots back, but i would definitely need some advice on how to do this properly if the tree already appears to be in trouble. I also saw some advice on another forum about filling the hole with spray foam, but wondered if there was another method to reduce the water getting in between this area. I'm definitely not going to use concrete, lol.

I really want to save this tree, as it is the centerpiece of the backyard and i am hoping and praying i have a chance to save it.

Thank you all again!!!

 

[Raintree]

Water pooling in the crotch is not an issue.
The small girdling roots on a tree of this size is also not an issue.
With crown thinning and small leaf size look toward the soil. Compaction and fertility.

 

[Bankswizzle]

Thank you for your reply! It's strange because nearby is the area where a lot of rainwater usually collects from there being a dip in the yard so I would think this tree would do better. We had a very wet winter so I thought the water from that may have kept it along like the other trees, but I guess not. There is a lot of zoysia grass growing here though as well so since it's doing well this year I wonder if it is contributing to keeping the top layer so thick that the water isn't getting down to the roots like it should. The spring has been unusually dry this year too with only maybe 4 or 5 days of rain since March. Is there a recommended soil test that gets everything I need for proper fertilization and any guidance on what water oaks this age need the most? The soil I currently have here is actually the best in the yard (mostly earthy brown soil with light sand, the rest of the yard is mostly clay and quite compacted with a little more sand and the other oaks are doing okay where that soil is), but that may just be the top layer where the grass is taking most of that water. Also with the roots buried and the others aren't like I said before, i understand it may be having to work a lot harder than the others. I would like to also maintain the grass without having to remove too much of it if possible, so I'm considering aeration methods as well (I know not to use spike aeration because it increases compaction, thought about using plug aerator, but idk if it would help much with how deep the roots are).

 

[Raintree]

Local extension service or the Agricultural center will help with soil tests.
Drought years ago will effect health of your tree today.
Trees growing in low areas with high water tables have shallow roots. They can suffer from severe drought more so than deeper rooted trees. Large mulch bed is a trees best friend.

 

[250R]

I'm not liking the included bark. For the size of tree you have there, I think you have a vascular problem.

 

[250R]

Also you might want to consider installing allrod between the stems. The union looks weak. It looks like the codominent stem splits into another large limb? Can you add a pic from 15 feet up from the ground?

 

[Jed1124]

That soil looks like concrete. Like previously said I think your problem is compacted soil.

 

[Bankswizzle]

Also you might want to consider installing allrod between the stems. The union looks weak. It looks like the codominent stem splits into another large limb? Can you add a pic from 15 feet up from the ground?

It does, its two separate trunk sections that go up.. I will get the photos to you in the AM, sorry i haven't been back to check on my post! I did find out that the shallow split going up is one of the nesting areas for the carpenter ants. its not deep as i said, but it does go all the way up until the trunk sections separate. I haven't noticed anything in the hole where the water is exiting out of the tree, at least for now.


I'm not liking the included bark. For the size of tree you have there, I think you have a vascular problem.

I can grab some closer up photos if needed!

That soil looks like concrete. Like previously said I think your problem is compacted soil.

It is, quite badly. I tried to aerate it some but its proving tough. The soil is more compacted where the other oaks are, but the other oaks have above ground roots.. so its easy to understand why they are doing better

TY all for the replies! Sorry i haven't gotten back to you all sooner. Just a lot going on at home.. I think i have a lot of individual things going on with the tree, but is the idea still mainly to get the soil decompacted? I wasn't sure if the leaves would actually grow back this year or i'd have to wait till next year to see the changes or not. As i said before, the middle and top of the canopy's limbs that do have leaves are sprouting a lot of new ones, but none where the foilage has already fallen unfortunately, so that worries me.

I've noticed with a few clusters of the leaves that have dropped and some that are still attached have tiny holes and looks like the tips of some of them were bit off. It also has a bad rash of leaf blister on it mainly on the lower limbs. One of my other oaks nearby has the blister too, but its not as bad as this one. The overwhelming majority of the leaves that have fallen are this grey/light brown color. They are basically all over the yard right now. I attached a few photos, hope they can help! Fortunately most of the leaves that have the oak blister are still attached.

I am assuming the grey leaves that are in the first picture are from the dehydration of the tree, but i wasn't sure. That is the majority of what i have noticed on the ground, and most of them don't look to be damaged by insects or fungi. The second picture has one of the leaves that have the outer crown red, but i assumed this wasn't oak wilt, but a new sprout that had fallen (its the only one i have found on the ground). I did some research about oak wilt itself and i haven't seen any signs myself of it, hopefully i am not wrong. On some of the leaves i noticed white powdery mildew, but its not near as widespread as the leaves just being grey in general. I think some of the leaves may have not even grown in either.. I want to stop the progress of the thirstiness/infestation/etc. as soon as possible, just trying to get a game plan together still.

As i finish this post, it sounds like we are getting our first decent rain of the spring, so that's some good news!

 

[Bankswizzle]

Also you might want to consider installing allrod between the stems. The union looks weak. It looks like the codominent stem splits into another large limb? Can you add a pic from 15 feet up from the ground?

Will this work? The tree basically separates right at the top of the image. I am kinda under the impression that the outer bark has just grown past that point to where keeping adhesion between the trees has proven difficult and where it is opened up isn't necessarily a bad thing, but i could be wrong. I noticed the roots are taking up a little more water than usual from the recent rain (i went out and did some plug aeration around the tree, stayed about 4 feet back from the trunk, i am hoping it helped!), but idk how long it would take for that to reflect in the repair of the tree itself. The storm winds made a few more dead leaves drop, but all of it was still that off grey/tan color. Not near as much as the past few days, but from looking up at the tree, i don't think it has much more left to blow down lol.

What is not included in this picture is that i had a driveway recently paved. Its about 50 feet from the base of the tree, and with the heat it attracts i did have a fleeting impression that its cooking the soil and radiating heat towards the tree. Only thing is, there is a tree that sits right beside the driveway and it seems to be unaffected.. but thought i would include that too. Where i took the first photo in this thread of the whole tree, i was standing on it then (and the unaffected tree flanks it to the left)

 

[Seachaser]

The tree has self grafted. I would just keep an eye on it. Should have been pruned about 20 years ago For a central leader. You may have another few decades in it. We’ve got some around us near 100 years old.