Planting An Oak Tree In Your Yard? Learn About These Two Diseases
Oak trees are beautiful and they provide a lot of shade once they become full grown. Oak trees also have acorns which provide food for wildlife, such as squirrels. Because of this you want to keep your oak tree healthy once you get it planted. To do this, below are two common diseases these trees may get. This will allow you to watch out for trouble and contact a tree service, such as Hudson & Sons Tree Service, in time to save your tree.
Oak Wilt
Your tree could get oak wilt by certain insects or from infected roots. This commonly happens if you have more than one tree planted and their roots meet and wind together. If beetles drink sap from an infected tree, the beetle then transfers the disease from tree to tree.
The symptoms your oak tree will display with oak wilt depends on the type of oak tree you have. One symptom you will see with all oaks, however, is the leaves falling off the tree, much like they do in the fall months.
If you plant a red oak, the leaves will turn brown around the edges in the beginning and over time all the leaves will turn brown and die. If you remove a piece of bark, it will likely look dark underneath.
If you plant a white oak, the leaves will look part green and part brown. The leaves may also have brown spots on them. If not treated, the branches will eventually die and fall off.
Anthracnose
This is a common disease that not only affects oak trees but many other trees as well. In the beginning of this disease, you will see brown-colored spots on the leaves. The spots are generally small and over time will become larger and the leaves will die. If not taken care of the first season, the disease will keep progressing.
The second season you will likely see large canker sores on the bark, as well as on the branches. Canker sores look like dark lesions. Branches will also die back and you will also see sap sprouting from different areas around the tree trunk.
If not taken care of at this point the tree will start losing bark rapidly and will eventually die. At this stage when the tree should be full of leaves it will only have a bunch of empty branches like trees look in the winter months.
Hire a tree service company to come to your home and help you plant your oak trees. They can give you information about how to take proper care of them to reduce the chances of them getting a disease. Once planted if you notice any problems contact the tree service immediately so they can take care of the problem early.