Chlorosis on Caddo Maple in caliche soil?

[lou_midlothian_tx]

Is it possible for Caddo Maple to get chlorosis leaves in caliche soil? About 2/3 of bottom that leafed out in March are dark green and look very healthy but the new growth past month about a foot and a half have yellow leaves with green veins. More and more of them are getting burned. Does this have to do with too much rain lately? The ground slopes away so it's not like that area pools whenever it rains. I thought Caddo Maples can tolerate caliche soil but maybe it's not really caddo maple.

How can I tell if it's Caddo Maple from other sugar maples?

[The Ent]

Odd weather out of season - even the welcomed addtional rain we got - can make the trees behave oddly. That last spurt of growth might have been more than the tree should normally have done.

I'd just keep on it with maybe a lil extra foliar spray for a while. Extra shot of organic fertilizer or some good compost wouldn't hurt it either.

[lou_midlothian_tx]

The Ent wrote: Odd weather out of season - even the welcomed addtional rain we got - can make the trees behave oddly. That last spurt of growth might have been more than the tree should normally have done.

I'd just keep on it with maybe a lil extra foliar spray for a while. Extra shot of organic fertilizer or some good compost wouldn't hurt it either.

I think I'm going to get rid of it. Nothing but problems. Even with little rain during August, new leaves came out and got burnt. I'm just going to plant something else like New Mexico Montezuma cypress, MC-BC hybrid 'Nanjing Beauty' or Mexican White Oak that I have in the containers right now. I wanted Shumard oak but I can't find the one with 1/4" terminal buds (a true way of knowing it can grow in caliche/alkaline soil; if the terminal buds are less than 1/4", forget them). I am also looking for 'Bosque' Lacebark elm which has dominant central leader unlike other cultivars but no luck at this point.

[The Ent]

I haven't checked the buds on my Shumard, though I'm not too worried since it is growing strong and steady with never a problem. This year is its first with a few acorns on it, and they're HUGE. Not Burr-oak huge but much bigger than I expected.

[lou_midlothian_tx]

The Ent wrote: I haven't checked the buds on my Shumard, though I'm not too worried since it is growing strong and steady with never a problem. This year is its first with a few acorns on it, and they're HUGE. Not Burr-oak huge but much bigger than I expected.

Well, consider yourself lucky. It is a BIG problem going on now with new "shumard" oak being planted around here. I will have to wait a couple weeks for Lowes and Home Depot to bring in a new batch of trees. Ironically, i got the correct one from Lowes and wrong one from Redenta's (now Petal Pusher in Cedar Hill). The lady from Petal Pusher doesn't understand why it happened and suggested I do all these stuff which I had already did, far less than the correct one I used to have.

www.cityofirving.org/inspections/red-oak.html - This explains how to tell which red oak can grow in alkaline soil based on the size of terminal buds. I thought it was accurate after looking at red oaks around here. I used to have two "shumard" oak trees on my lot. Two totally different trees for sure. One was not growing at all. Not many leaves which were light green. Another one was growing a ton and a lot of dark green leaves. Unfortunately, the correct red oak was taken out by the violent storm earlier this spring (thanks to pre-existing problem. apparently, one branch was partially torn off the trunk causing some rot and the high wind pretty much snapped it in half. I probably pulled the branch down by accident, who knows)

[The Ent]

Well mine is dark green, thriving, and healthy as the proverbial horse. I got it from Puckett's Nursery in Allen, and they seem to have a reasonable idea of what they're doing as opposed to the big box stores. Nice to know some places really have what it's marked. I got it when it was in a one gallon pot and only about 6 ft tall. Now its around 15 feet and thick, lush, and happy, not far from my Ash and Birch trees.

It's worth noting I HAD an incorrectly marked 'Shumard' there for a year and a half that went yellow, didn't grow and after I studied the overall shape of things decided it was at best a bad hybrid. I removed it and planted this one.

[pstevens1]

I have had the exact same problem with my Caddo Maple. The second round of growth yellows and wilts away. I am just down the road from you in Waxahachie, so perhaps it is our soils. I am at the same point as you and will replace it this fall.

[lou_midlothian_tx]

pstevens1 wrote: I have had the exact same problem with my Caddo Maple. The second round of growth yellows and wilts away. I am just down the road from you in Waxahachie, so perhaps it is our soils. I am at the same point as you and will replace it this fall.

They might not be the actual Caddo maple, who knows?

I think I'm going to replace it with Mexican White Oak that I got from Greenery in Midlothian. There is Greenery in Waxahachie if you haven't known already.

I'm also replacing another caddo with New Mexico Montezuma Cypress - supposedly they can tolerate as low as minus 15-25*F but never will happen over here... Much better than the Mexico seed source...




This is apparently Montezuma Cypress right in Midlothian, a couple miles from my house in another subdivision. It caught my attention big time because I thought it was a bald cypress with dark green that I never see anywhere around here. I contacted Dr Creech at Stephen F Austin (my old college) to confirm if it is Montezuma cypress and he thinks it is.