This past weekend, we had to remove two 45-year old Texas red oaks due to oak wilt. These trees were planted in the parkway when my parents bought the house in 1967. It was heartbreaking, but one of the trees was dead despite our efforts, and the other was beginning to lose its bark in huge sheets. I was afraid the infection would spread to our large live oak and didn't want to take a chance.

I'm planning to plant crape myrtles in place of the red oaks, but would like to know if it will be safe to plant them this spring, or if we should wait a season after stump grinding. Thanks!

There's nö pröblem about trnsfering any disease that might have been in the removed trees. There is a problem if the bad conditions that killed the trees still exist. I wouldn' wait till spring to plant the new trees. They will do best if planted now.

Thank you for the information! This is a great forum, by the way.