Looks like it might be a holly oak, my leaves are much smaller though. Barbed like you’re saying tho.
It’ll be a damn shame to have to cut it down.
It’ll be a damn shame to have to cut it down.
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That’s a huge Holly oak tree… absolutely huge
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@AbyssLurker If I were to air layer a branch would the clone have the infection still?
The whole tree isn’t looking too great, last year I saw the leaves burning but just attributed that to heat the hot dry climate I live in.
Do ur leaves get a black soot on them or u only have black goo on the bark?
I think this particular sickness causes fermentation of the sugars traveling inside the xylem.
Pressure built due to the fermentation causes the branches to split open due to the internal pressures. The black goo is the result of the fermentation.
I did a taste test of it (Dont know why, lol…) it wasn’t pleasant.
No black soot or anything developed on the leaves.
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Yeah I read where ppl drilled holes to release the pressure but it was more wives tail thing, no evidence helping… Only kinda treatment I saw was dilute bleach wash so far
I read about that too, but if this infection starts from the xylem and then pushes it’s way out I’m not sure bleach or anything would really make a difference.
No topical treatments would work for something systemic like this.
I’ll probably just give it a year and if it’s not doing well I’ll just plant a new tree in its place and make a bench out of tree to commemorate it.
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It takes long time to get tree that big…if it’s not expensive I’d try whatever I could
My grandpa would be like do u know how long it took that to get that big…hed have the tree valued in years lmao I love trees but he really really loved them
The power company cut down bunch my uncle’s trees once and he sued them or something, they was to far over the line…I know he got bunch money per tree and they had to replant them
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the bark didnt look oak to me.
Look at the trunk of the last pic he posted w the ladder in the tree
…I didnt think so until I saw that plus the acorns… The acorns are probably the biggest thing…oaks being the only producers of acorns gives it away
…it may be a different species oak than I’m thinking but w the acorns it’s definitely in the fam
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i thought the 1st pics had smooth bark
The trunk pic isn’t but yeah the first did…maybe results of the infection
Theres a lot of different varieties of oak. This one could just be some kind of hybrid or just some variety thats not common. Aren’t acorns the defining characteristic of an oak tree?
After looking into it a bit, what I’ve got is a “coast live oak”
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Yeah I think the cuttings would still be infected since it starts inside the tree and works its way out. It’d be a shame if you have to cut it down. Still a solid looking tree despite that spot.
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I was mistaken with the I.d. in reference to first photos. defs an oak. Thanks for the additional photos. I’m up in the Boreal forrest. Never seen such elongated acorns before.
Tree I.d. is most accurate when going off apical meristem/bud arrangement.
Regardless of species the sickness is the same.
Any propigated cutting will carry the infection.
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How about the progeny by seed? I’ve got a few acorns that germinated in the yard that I could start new from.
The volunteers look happy, should I assume they’ve got the same disease my oak tree has?
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Those acorns are probably free of the infection…yeah that definitely looks like the pictures of coast live oak…neat I never new an oak tree had those Holly leaves
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The tree is still standing and living. If you let the tree grow out will this be a threat to surrounding wildlife? Can this tree not overcome a sickness? You mention cutting down the tree. I feel if you do that than you will become the disease that hurt the tree. I understand you are seeking knowledge to assist in the tress living but she is so big and beautiful, Sickness or not I could not imagine knocking her down, Disease or not.
This wetwood infection is a death sentence to the tree. This tree also happens to be growing directly into my service drop to my house, so as beautiful as it is, in a wind storm it could cause me some serious issues.
In fact it already has before, a wind storm broke the leading branch off this tree and it was a miracle that it didn’t fall on the power line.
If you think I’m being insensitive to the tree I think that may just be a matter of opinion. I still have the ropes attached for the swing my pops used to push me in when I was a little kid… and my pops has been dead for a while. I see some real sentimental value in this tree.
I’m not happy about considering chopping this tree down, but I’d rather it comes down in good shape and I can make something out of it rather than just chipping it all up and composting it if the infection spreads so much that it makes any significant portion of the wood unusable.
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