Bankswizzle
New Member
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!!!
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!!!