Live Oak Tree Problems and Solutions

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By Dr. Jerry Parsons

I am hearing the hysterics of many Texans' at this time of the year:

"Help!!! My Live Oak is looking like a Dead Oak. It is has no leaves. It is usually evergreen all year long. The limbs are being killed by moss and there are scabby sections on the bark. There are little "balls" on the bottom of some of the leaves which have fallen off of the tree. There were millions of worms eating it last spring and summer, and I want to keep them off of the tree this year so they won't cause the Oak to have Decline and eventually Wilt. If I increase the soil micro organisms in and on the root system of the tree by adding compost tea, molasses, Quaker Oats, soil activator, root simulator and fauna flora motivator, will this solve my problems? If so, what amounts should I use of each and when should it be applied?"…All these questions from one person, signed "Anxiously awaiting and desparately needing your assistance!

Lord, Have Mercy! Settle down, folks! These Live Oaks have been living through all of these problems for hundreds of years before we got here, and I imagine they will be doing the same for hundreds of years after we have gone.

Let us take these dilemmas one at a time and see if we can console the populous. The first worry is about the lack of modesty being displayed by our naked trees- they were "disrobed" by the worst onslaught of insects and diseases in 2004 we have experienced in years. Every oak tree type (Burr, Texas Red, Shumardii, Live, Monterrey) was affected by a multitude of diseases such as powdery mildew, leaf spot fungus and leaf rust. The wet, cloudy weather last summer was ideal for these diseases. Some live oaks were defoliated as a result of the insects and diseases, but they will not be permanently damaged. No treatment was necessary or effective, i.e., changing weather patterns solved the disease problem naturally, and the insect population went on their merry way after they completed their foliage eating larval stage. There is nothing that can be done to avoid these naturally occurring problems except to plant the recommended trees and shrubs for this area which can survive these environmental adversities.

This article was written by Dr. Jerry Parsons, Extension Horticulturist (Vegetables) with Texas Cooperative Extension in Bexar County.