old oak in trouble

15 years ago

I live in central Arkansas, and have a few large oaks in the yard (24-36" diameter above the flared base). it has been a fairly wet spring with lots of heavy storms. the lawn is quite green, and most of the trees are doing well.

with the exception of one tree in the back yard which has a couple large limbs which were alive last year- now look dead, anf the rest of the tree looks less lush and green than the others.

no standing water or soggy areas, as far as i can tell, and the lot is on a good slope with at least 3-4% grade, so i dont think that it is soggy and waterlogged, nor is it underwatered.

last year a foundation was dug for a garage- about 15-20 feet from the tree which now has the 2 dead limbs. i am certain some of the roots were cut in that process- and since that is the only tree different this year- i am sure it is related. so, what can be done (if anything) to help a big oak which is looking to have a couple dead limbs (maybe from roots being cut?). more watering? fertilizer? other posts have mentioned fertilizer spikes as probably useless, can they hurt? if these limbs are not budding by now (early summer) should i wait to see if it recovers or just cut them off? any advice would be appreciated.

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Comments (3)

brandon7 TN_zone7
15 years ago
Do NOT add fertilizer or fertilizer spikes! And yes, any improper fertilization can be detrimental to the health of you tree. Call an ISA certified arborist (one with a good reputation in your area, if possible) and have them take a look.

I suspect soil compaction from the construction work is the main culprit in your tree's decline, but that's just a likely guess. I'm sure chopping off a decent percentage of your tree's roots didn't help. Adding a footing that close to a tree that large would likely cut through a big percentage of the roots (which are mostly in the top couple of feet of soil and extend out about three times the diameter of the canopy).
j0nd03
15 years ago
What brandon said. The construction along with the bad drought condition we have been under are stressing it out. It might now be in a prolonged decline that will eventually kill it or leave it disfigured (compared to the pre-construction tree). Sometimes it takes longer that just a year for construction damage to show. I don't know if that is good or bad since yours is already showing symptoms.

Again get an ISA arborist out there pronto.

Good luck!
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Matthew23
Original Author
15 years ago
thank you for your prompt replies. will get an expert here. there was already a parking slab foundation 20' away from the tree, and this was widened by about 5' towards the tree, (now new slab is only 15' away. there was no heavy machinery- it was all dug by hand, since it is on a hill sloping toward the house.
since posting- i also realized that the alley behind the house had a gasleak last year- it was trenched by the gas co, and repaved this could have done some harm as well. this is about 25' from the tree
the tree may have been old and weak, and this may have pushed it over the edge. thank you. will get expert to see if any remedies are available or if we should consider removing the tree