Trees Alive is a tree care consulting service that gives advice on all aspects of tree planting and tree care. Certified arborist Howard Garrett is the owner and primary consultant. Send an email to trees@dirtdoctor.com for additional information. The company offers totally organic solutions to the following:

• Tree Selection
• Planting and Transplanting Instructions
• Insect and Disease Management
• Root Flare Management
• Fertilization Programs Including Foliar Feeding
• Commercial Tree Growing

 
SICK TREE TREATMENT
FOR OAK WILT & OTHER TREE PROBLEMS

Oak wilt is a devastating fungal disease of native and introduced red oaks and live oaks. Texas A & M and the Texas Forest Service recommend a program of trenching to separate the roots of sick trees from those of healthy trees, cutting down sick and nearby healthy trees and injecting a toxic chemical fungicide called Alamo directly into the trunks or root flares of the trees. I don’t recommend this program because it does nothing to address the cause of the disease. Trees succumb to insect pests and diseases because they are in stress and sick. Mother Nature then sends in the clean up crews. The bugs and pathogens are just doing their job – trying to take out the unfit plants. Most sickness is environmental – too much water, not enough water, too much fertilizer, wrong kind of fertilizer, toxic chemical pesticides, compaction of soil, grade changes, ill-adapted plant varieties and/or over planting single plant species and creating monocultures, such as American elms in the Northwest and red oak/live oak communities in certain parts of Texas.

My plan is simple. Keep trees in a healthy condition so their immune systems can resist insect pests and diseases. It has been noticed by many farmers and ranchers that oak wilt doesn’t bother some trees - especially those that are mulched and those where the natural habitat under trees has been maintained. There’s only anecdotal evidence so far but we have seen excellent results from the following organic program that is called The Sick Tree Treatment:

1. REMOVE EXCESS SOIL FROM ABOVE ROOT BALL. A very high percentage of trees have been planted too low. Soil on top of the root ball smothers the tree and leads to circling and girdling roots. Soil, or even heavy mulch, on trunks keeps the bark constantly moist which can rot or girdle the tree.
2. AERATE THE ROOT ZONE HEAVILY. Start between the drip line and the trunk and go far out beyond the drip line. A 7-12” depth of the aeration holes is ideal but any depth is beneficial. An alternative is to spray the root zone with a living organism product or bio-stimulant.
3. APPLY TEXAS GREENSAND at about 40-80 lbs./1,000 sq. ft., lava sand at about 40-80 lbs./1,000 sq. ft., horticultural cornmeal at about 10-20 lbs./1,000 sq. ft. and sugar or dry molasses at about 5 lbs./1,000 sq. ft. Cornmeal is a natural disease fighter and sugar is a carbon source to feed the microbes in the soil.
4. APPLY A 1” LAYER OF COMPOST followed by a 3-5” layer of shredded native tree trimmings. Native cedar is the best source for mulch. In turf use a 1” layer of horticultural cedar flakes.
5. SPRAY FOLIAGE AND SOIL MONTHLY OR MORE OFTEN IF POSSIBLE WITH GARRETT JUICE (see formula below.) For large-scale farms and ranches, a one-time spraying is beneficial if the budget doesn’t allow ongoing sprays. Adding garlic tea to the spray is also beneficial while the tree is in trouble.
6. STOP USING HIGH NITROGEN FERTILIZERS AND TOXIC CHEMICAL PESTICIDES. Pesticides kill the beneficial nematodes and insects. Fake fertilizers are destructive to the chemistry, the structure and the life in the soil.

FIREWOOD AND MULCH

If you’ve already had trees die, can you use the wood for firewood and mulch? Since the fungal mats form on red oaks only, not on live oaks, the live oak wood can be used for firewood without any worry of spreading the oak wilt disease. Red oak wood needs to be stacked in a sunny location and covered with clear plastic to form a greenhouse effect to kill the beetles and fungal mats. When oaks are shredded into mulch, the aeration kills the pathogens and eliminates the possibility of disease spread. That goes for all species.

About the nitidulid beetle. Is this beetle the only vector of the oak wilt disease? I doubt it. How about mechanical damage to tree trunks, wind, squirrels, hail, sapsuckers and other insects? Fire ants seem to prefer weaker trees over others and could also be part of the disease spreading problem.

FORMULAS

Garrett Juice: Garden-Ville Garrett Juice is available commercially or you can make your own. Per gallon of water: 1 cup manure compost tea or liquid humate, 1 ounce molasses, 1 ounce apple cider vinegar, 1 ounce liquid seaweed. For added disease control add ¼ cup garlic tea. The commercial product now contains leachate of lava sand and beneficial microbes.

Garrett Juice Concentrate: Mix the following: 1 gallon of compost tea or liquid humate, 1 pint liquid seaweed, 1 pint apple cider vinegar, and 1 pint molasses. Use 1½ cups per gallon of water for the spray.

Tree Trunk Goop: 1/3 of each of the following mixed in water: soft rock phosphate, natural diatomaceous earth, and manure compost. Slop it on the trunk. Note: fireplace ashes can be substituted for the soft rock phosphate. Replace it if rain or irrigation washes it off. For any physical damage to trunks, spray with hydrogen peroxide and then treat wounds with Tree Trunk Goop.



 Above - INCORRECT CRAPEMYRTLE PRUNING


CORRECT CRAPEMYRTLE PRUNING - NONE



Proper Root Flares