False Oleander Scale on Magnolia

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Live Oak 1 Year After Planting Part 2/2

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Live Oak 1 Year After Planting Part 1/2

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Avoiding Damage to Tree Roots During Sidewalk Resurfacing

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Fresh Powder on Bleeding Cankers on Water Oak

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Tree Protection at a Construction Site

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Landscape Design Flaws can harm the trees post-construction

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Whitefly Pupal Casings on Cherry Laurel

Often confused for scale or even artillery fungus, these whitefly pupal casings have a lot of variety. Some have white margins; others have waxy filaments.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Bagworm on Red Maple

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Sooty Mold on Cherry Laurel

There is some mild whitefly presence on the cherry laurel, but I think the honeydew is really coming from a shadetree above.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Scale on Yaupon Holly October Houston

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Pop Quiz: Anyone with an ID on this lovely tropical?

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Sooty mold affecting several surrounding plants 2/2

In addition to the lacebug damage, I found aphids, fat and happy, on the American elm that was dripping on all the expensive landscape plants below.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Sooty mold affecting several surrounding plants 1/2

Here's a plant health inspection I conducted in Piney Point Village, Texas. I took the elm leaf back to the lab to examine under one of my microscopes. Later, you'll see that I found aphids--live and fat--feeding right over the top of the lacebug damage from earlier in the season. You'll also see the black spot of elm up close. 



Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Plant Turnaround Before and After Houston 2010

It's amazing what a little TLC can accomplish. Hand-prune the jasmine away from the base, put a stop to the weedeater damage at the base, loosen up the guys--eventually remove--a little soil amendment. and a disappointing transplant can turn into a sensation!

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Oak Wilt Inspection from Aerial Lift

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Cable and Lightning Protection System Inspection

Hardware in trees needs to be inspected periodically. There are a few things to keep in mind. Hardware and installation techniques should conform to the ANSI A300 Support Systems Standard. Hint: if you purchased your hardware at the hardware store, it probably isn't up to standard. Cabling systems work. Lightning protection systems work. Props work, Through-bolts work. In the right situations, that is.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Magnolia inspection: scale, pH and soil nutrition

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Bright Red live oak root sprouts sprouting from an (otherwise) dead live oak transplant. Close examination of the leftmost stalk will reveal fire ants tending their flock of aphids.

 
 Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Fire ants tending a flock of aphids on live oak

 
This close up doesn't really show the fire ants--just the aphids--but they're there. The kind of freaked out when I plucked off the branch and tried like hell to bite me, and wouldn't pose for the picture. And yes, I said live oak.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Some lightning strikes are more damaging than others...

 
 Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

How to manage a tree whose entire feeder root system resides above the root collar?

 
Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Pruning away, and still no root collar!

 

 Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Part 2/2 of Cathedral Live Oak Transplant turnaround

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

"Cathedral" live oak transplant turnaround

This live oak transplant had a little trouble after planting. We're hoping that our efforts to stabilize it will prove successful over the coming years.



Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Immature Scale October Houston

Immature scale photographed at 100x in October in Houston. Matches up with an immature scale depicted in Johnson and Lyon.

 Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones or Shane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Algal Leaf Spot on Camellia Houston October

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service, a Certified Arborist or just someone who is serious about tree care, call the company I've been working with since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. We'll set a time for me to come out, or, depending on what part of town you're in, John Jones orShane Hrobar. This is my personal blog: it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts, whose website you can visit at www.bartlett.com (I especially recommend the "Resource Library" under "Site Map".)

Texas Tree Trails

Here's a link to a nice work in progress on Texas tree trails.

http://greattexastreetrail.org/

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Houston Arborist Gene Basler Examines Trees After Root Invigoration

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Houston Arborist Gene Basler Examines Webworms on Pecans

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Gene Basler Examines Distressed Pecan

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Bagworm on Shumard Oak

Bagworm on Shumard oak? Oh, yes. And plenty of them, too. I have now seen bagworm on live oak, red maple, Shumard oak, red-tipped photinia, Italian cypress, Eastern red cedar, Ashe juniper and Leyland cypress.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

"Butterfly" deformity on red bud

I collected these deformed leaves from a red bud in Fulshear, Texas. I would have ignored one, but two?

My first thought was eriophyid mite damage, until I found this bagworm on a red maple on the same property.

Then I began to wonder if the damage on the same part of the red bud leaf wasn't perhaps an aborted attempt to start a bag, which the leaf subsequently grew around.

(By the way, one might be tempted to correct me and insist that it's a silver maple leaf, because the bagworm damage leaves the illusion of deep sinuses. But it's a red maple.)

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Bright green Chelicerae of the P. audax jumping spider

This is the Phidippus audax. I this photo the metallic green is faded, as the specimen has been dead for some time, but the live jumping spider's bright green fangs really jump out at ya. I shot this with my Celestron Digital Microscope.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Leafhopper nymph on River Birch

I recorded this leafhopper nymph on the underside of a river birch leaf today, Saturday, October 9th, 2010. There is also the spider mite present on the leaf, but not in this clip. Recorded with Celestron Handheld Digital Microscope

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Possible Pityophthorus Chamber on Live Oak twig?

This live oak twig is 5/16" in diameter. The holes, before I whittled them away, were even smaller (see below). I'm not sure, but I suspect the debris inside the gallery might be dried up ambrosia.

I found a cool scavenger that I've been unable to identify, and also a roving mite with a spider tattoo on its back (Neoseiulus spp.?).

 The holes before I opened the door.

 I also have a video and a second video of this scavenger.

Here's the mite with the spider tattoo that was also in the gallery.

 

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

What does it mean to be TCIA Accredited?

Here is a link to the Tree Care Industry Association.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Why Should I Hire an Arborist? A link from the ISA Website

I've written (and ghost-written) several times about the topic of choosing the right outfit to care for your trees. There are a few points that I consider important that are not covered in the article linked below, but it's a pretty good one anyway.
http://www.treesaregood.org/faq/faq03.aspx
Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Don't Try This At Home, Folks!

I was working late at the office this evening, and I received a call about 7pm from a gentleman who was clearly trying to keep his cool. He had gone on Google and typed in "Tree Service 77018", and I was closest. (Now, tree removal ain't azackly plucking carrots, folks, and I would advise employing a few discriminating criteria other than just geographical proximity to one's house when choosing a tree company. But I digress...)

I went to take a look, and found this. It was too dark to take pictures, but the entire tree was leaning over the house. So, even if it had a perfect notch cut installed by the Canadian Felling Masters of Canada, and even if there were a rope in the tree tied to the bumper of a very large truck being operated by a skilled operator (a felling technique I do not espouse, by the way), then it would be quite difficult to pull the entire tree crown in the intended direction.

But I didn't mention the best part: the entire back part of the tree, approximately 60% of the circumference of the trunk, is decayed:

Anyway, I advised him to move his whole family to the other side of the house for the evening, and wished him luck with whatever cheap dude he decided to hire.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Post Oak Continues to Decline after Health Care Program Discontinued

I hope the following clip shows the importance of staying on top of one's plant health care regime.This post oak was fertilized once once and treated for root rot twice, then nothing since January 2008.

This is very common. People are looking for a magic bullet that will cure their trees. If they don't get immediate satisfaction--as if an old, struggling post oak were going to jump out of bed and feel better after a couple of days--then they discontinue the service. The tree continues to decline, they think Bartlett ripped them off, and nobody's happy.
Managing Plant Health is really no different from managing our own health. We have to stay on top of it. There's a lot more we could do for this tree besides just inject liquid Texas Boost(R) into the ground and try to arrest the root loss.
Fertilizing and root rot treatments are great, and they should be a part of a larger strategy to try to stabilize the tree and arrest the decline. But what really needs to happen is root invigoration. Restructure the soil in the entire dripline of the tree, encourage the soil biology to build up, and place the tree on a completely separate irrigation schedule from the lawn.
I like to draw the parallel of chronic stress headaches. We can take the immediate action--a painkiller--or we can take the long-term action--active steps to manage stress better. Well in this analogy, fertilizers, fungicides and insecticides are really just the painkiller. The lifestyle change is the root invigoration.
This does not mean that this is the answer for every tree and landscape plant, just for the vast majority of them. This one may be too far gone. Or it may stabilize. Either way, root invigoration should be considered as a key component in any tree or landscape plant management plan.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Rain Barrels on Residential Property in Houston

 In early October I examined these rain barrels on a residential property in Houston.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

How bad is the pine bark beetle problem this year?

Well, I haven't seen any Dendroctonus at all this year. Last week I was digging an Ips calligraphis out of a pine tree, and for a moment I thought I saw the tail end of a black turpentine beetle (they're relatively large). Well, it hid from me--they always do--and I wasn't able to get the specimen in a bottle. For the record, it's not at all uncommon to see more than one species of pine bark beetle at the same time.

Contrary to popular belief, Ips and sawyers can be found--active--on the same tree at the same time.

Anyway, they're bad this year. Not as bad as 2009, but compared to 2008, when they were hardly an issue, they're killing pines all over town. I found half a dozen infested/dead pines near Memorial and San Felipe, one near Memorial and Wilcrest, dozens out near Fry and Clay in Katy, some up at Champion Forest and Cypresswood. Let's see, Voss and Katy Freeway, Kluge and Huffmeister in Cypress...

One important point: don't let anyone tell you that your tree can be saved once the pitch tubes appear. There are also football-shaped marks on the bark; these are also indications that it's too late. Have the tree removed. Preventive bark treatments with befenthrin are very effective, especially if properly and religiously applied at 4 month intervals. The Texas Forest Service and some other researchers are working on systemic treatment with emamectin benzoate, which promises to provide 2 years of protection. This would be great--if you could get people to pay for it. Of course, the Bartlett lab, headed up by Dr. Don Booth, will have to do their own battery of tests.

I have seen trees that appear perfectly healthy succumb to pine bark beetle attack, but there is always more than meets the eye. All a tree really needs is a loss of turgor pressure at the right time for the attack to be successful. Most pines in the suburban setting are growing in junky soil. In most situations the turf grass has sapped the soil of all nutrients, foot traffic and pavement have compacted the soil, rendering it anaerobic, irrigation systems have caused moisture stress, and as a result the soil is largely devoid of organic matter and beneficial soil biology.

What I'm saying is the apparently perfectly healthy pine tree that succumbs to pine bark beetles usually ain't as healthy as it may look. I've never seen an infested pine, where I couldn't point to some factor or other that could have contributed to momentary loss of turgor pressure.

So, fertilizing is still the best way to reduce susceptibility. Generally speaking, trees whose nutrient needs are being met--running on all eight cylinders, so to speak--are much less susceptible to drought, over-irrigation, turf-grass competition, foot traffic, pavement, construction damage, and (dare I say it?) lightning (more on this here).

Of course (and I'm still speaking in general terms, here, not just about pines), fertilizing is inferior to promoting healthy soil. This means aerating, incorporating organic mattter and encouraging a healthy soil biology (If you build it, they will come).

Now, we haven't really done extensive testing on preventing pine bark beetle attack using root invigoration, the procedure that does exactly that (aerate and incorporate organic matter into the soil, usually to a depth of 7-9 inches, and to a radius of at least 8 feet for a mature pine), but the principle applies.

So, in summary, pines can be protected from attack by a combination of soil nutrition and preventive bark treatments, and don't let anyone convince you that a pine can be treated once it's been attacked.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Cool vid of cicada shedding skin

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

How are lightning strikes and pine bark beetles connected?

On Monday, October 5th, 2009 (about a year ago), at one o'clock in the morning, lightning struck a pine tree near Memorial and Antoine. My client and his family were home at the time and heard the crack. I arrived at the tree at 9 o'clock on Tuesday morning, 32 hours later, and pine bark beetles were already present on the tree.

I have heard that they can attack a lightning-struck pine within 12 hours, but 32 is the fastest interval that I have personal experience with, and it's pretty fast.

(Another note on this property, just a month earlier, the next-door neighbor had a pine succumb to pine bark beetle attack and had all of her trees treated with preventive bark application. The property owner decided not to tell me of this event, because he wasn't ready to have me "sell" him a preventive bark application.)

In another case, just a couple miles west, at Memorial and the Beltway, I inspected a lightning-struck pine that didn't appear to have pine bark beetles on it until about 10 days after the strike (this, by the way, was in August 2009).

So, what is the relationship between lightning and pine bark beetles? This has been studied by several researchers since the 1940s. What is believed is that these little critters are attracted to the pine smell emanating from the fresh wound of a lightning strike. A lightning strike is very stressful to the tree, and most beetle attacks are successful.

If the tree is super healthy, however, it could conceivably exude enough oleoresin to smother the attacking beetles. This a huge gamble; therefore most pine bark beetle experts recommend immediate removal following a lightning strike (pines, not necessarily other trees).

I have seen this phenomenon.

On F.M. 2920 in Tomball, TX, I was inspecting pine bark beetle damage in the far rear of an acreage property, and I came upon a grand old pine with an old lightning scar on it. It had several years' worth of callus woundwood on the scar. It also was peppered with pitch tubes at the base. Grayish-pink, smooth and weathered was their appearance, with no holes. Signs that the tree correctly suppressed the attack with oleoresin exudate.

So it does happen. Heck, we look at pines at least once a week with old lightning scars on them. Not all are attacked by pine bark beetle. So, immediate removal for a lightning-struck pine? I guess it's a smart practice, if you're a forester and dealing with hundreds of pine specimens on a plot. That happens to be a common difference between arborists and foresters. Foresters are always saying take down the tree. Arborists are (or should be) always saying "hold on a sec."

This is why I say with such confidence in another post on the topic that good soil nutrition can reduce the risk of pine mortality even following a lightning strike. That said, I usually don't protest too loudly to a recommendation for removal of a (recently) lightning-struck pine, largely because I seldom see a pine in the urban/suburban setting that is operating on all eight cylinders.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Is it normal for my tree's leaves to fall off the tree during the summer?

I might differ from other horticulturists and arborists on this point. It is not normal or beneficial, from a plant physiology standpoint, for a single leaf to fall or be cut out of a tree before its normal leaf drop (this does not mean they should never be pruned: more on this in another post). Therefore, if leaves are falling off of your tree, as in the case of the river birch in the youtube video below, during August, then some stress factor is acting upon the tree to cause the leaf drop. This could be drought, overwatering, nutrient deficiency, leaf spot disease, insect or mite damage, wind damage, or any of a number of other factors.

In the case of the river birch below, the homeowner asked me if August leaf drop was normal and I of course said no. I was showing her the stippling on the senescent foliage--this was October 9th 2010, still a little early for river birches to be defoliating--and found the mites and leafhoppers. Hope you enjoy!



One further note regarding premature defoliation: I have a good friend and colleague, Manuel Flores, whom I haven't seen or spoken with in a couple of years. Once at a Q&A Manuel says premature defoliation happens because the tree doesn't need the leaves anymore. According to his thesis, the trees need a greater total square footage of photosynthetic leaf surface during the spring. Once they get over this, they dump the excess foliage. I would politely counter that this is incorrect. This thesis does not explain why we can successfully reduce the incidence of premature defoliation by using foliar fungicide applications in the spring, when leaf spot diseases infect the newly emerging foliage. Also, trees that are treated for mites, chewing caterpillars, lacebugs, aphids, scale and other sucking insects, also have lower rates of premature defoliation. Generally speaking, organisms do not voluntarily cut off their food sources, and in the simplest of terms, a leaf is a plant's food source.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Mexican White Oak about a year after planting in Houston

Here is a quick clip of my follow-up inspection of a young Mexican white oak about a year after planting in Houston. Nice tree.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Pine Bark Beetle Symptoms from a distance

Questions, comments, arguments? Please feel free to comment or email. If you're looking for a Houston arborist or quality tree service, call Bartlett Tree Experts at 713-692-6371. Bartlett has been my employer since 2002. This is my personal blog, which is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

I inspect Pines from Aloft Lightning Damage and Pine Bark Beetles

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Julien and Gene at Texas Tree Climbing Competition in Plano 2010-05-22

My good friend Tom Dunlap of treebuzz.com gave me this photo yesterday (2010-05-24) at the 31st Annual Texas Tree Conference in College Station. I had taken video and stills with my ipod, and the files were lost. So this is the only picture of the occasion. One can see that Julien is not happy. I didn't know until he was on the ground that he had rope burn from his hands being in the wrong place during the belay. He wears the scar on the back of his hand with pride. Thanks, Tom!

Questions, comments, arguments? Please feel free to comment or email. If you're looking for a Houston arborist or quality tree service, call Bartlett Tree Experts at 713-692-6371. Bartlett has been my employer since 2002. This is my personal blog, which is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Follow-up to last week's large storm break

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Previous Improper Trimming Presents a Challenge

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Leaf Population is the key to a healthy tree

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Berms aren't common in the Houston landscape

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Good Example of Prevention Through Good Soil Nutrition

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Leaning, cankerous cactus with rot

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Native Trachyderes mandibularis Longhorn and Green Scarab feeding on Bacterial Slime Flux

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Whitefly confused for leaf hopper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmvragZG5-k
That's not a leaf hopper. The feller in the video looks whitefly (the bug, not the esteemed Mr. Garrett). Whiteflies sure do hop, but they aren't  leaf hopper (or a plant hopper or tree hopper). Leaf hoppers, as members of the cicadellidae, appear like miniature cicadas, with wings close to the housing when stationary, not deltoid, as the whitefly. You will find their pupal casings on Sophora and all manner of Quercus, often mistaken for scale or even misidentified at artillery fungus. I believe whiteflies are in the Aleyrodidae (sp?) family. Oh, and they do a heck of a lot of damage. Best to reduce plant susceptibility by boosting organic matter, promoting soil biology, improving internal drainage, and cutting off or restricting irrigation.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Gene Basler Root Collar Surgery and Root Invigoration Part 4/4

Here's the final product, watered in.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Gene Basler Root Collar Surgery and Root Invigoration Part 3/4

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Gene Basler Root Collar Surgery and Root Invigoration Part 2/4

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Gene Basler Root Collar Surgery and Root Invigoration Part 1/4

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Pruning Girdling Root Part 1/2

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Pruning Girdling Root Part 2/2

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Buried Root Collar on Distressed Young Live Oak

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Chilli Thrips Nymphs on Nuttall Oak

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Unidentified Predator Occupying Abandoned Live Oak Twig Gallery

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Residential Plant Health Inspection

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Organic, Homeopathic or "Chemical"?

Just where does the legendary Gene Basler stand on the organic-chemical spectrum? Seeing as how I work for "one o' them evil 'chemical' companies", I guess I ought to clear the air a bit, so that my clients, prospective clients and Green Industry colleagues might have a better understanding of how I approach every property, every landscape, and indeed every plant. In this article I intend to clarify what I mean when I myself use the term "organic", the key role organic matter plays in my diagnoses and prescriptive regimes, and why I consider the term's use in common Green Industry parlance is less than ingenuous, and in many cases, downright deceptive.

First of all, the notion of an organic-chemical spectrum, wherein "organic" resides way over on the left and "chemical" on the right, is as absurd as the widely-held misconception that there is any substantial difference between Democrat and Republican in Twenty-First Century politics. According to this linear model, anyone whose garden, household, dietary habits and energy sources aren't 100% organic is somehow morally compromised and out of synch with Momma Gaea.

Second, the idea that anyone who goes to the local bureaucracy to obtain a license to apply pesticides must surely be bought and paid for by Dow Chemical and Monsanto, is just as absurd. For my part, no pesticide manufacturer has ever approached me with offers of coke and back-room massages in exchange for peddling their poisons.

Third, many companies, within the Green Industry and without, play fast and loose with terms such as "organic" and "sustainable", as though they were really just marketing gimmicks, without really understanding what they mean for the average residential or commercial landscape, much less for the individual plant.

Trees and landscape plants actually ask very little of the people whose job it is to care for them. Provide a healthy growing medium in which to grow and thrive, and they will reward you with vigorous growth and very few problems. What do I mean by healthy growing medium? By healthy growing medium I mean rich soil, high in organic content, porosity, internal drainage, and containing a vibrant soil biology. Once this fundamental first step has been accomplished, then the tree or landscape plant will better withstand the countless stresses that the urban and suburban setting impose upon them, and the need to intervene with pesticides and fungicides will be virtually reduced to nil.

Therefore, my position on "organics" is that soil needs lots of organic content, not just residing on the surface in the form of a layer of mulch, or poured into the soil in the form of a tea, but incorporated into the soil to as great a depth as is practical (in another post I intend to address the exhortation on the part of the good folks at Urban Harvest not to till or otherwise disturb the soil--a philosophy I agree with, with important exceptions).

So, put another way, organic matter plays the central role in the remedial and preventive courses of action that I routinely prescribe for people's plants. But it's important to realize that by the time I or one of my arborists is called out to inspect a tree, it is usually in an advanced state of decline. The objective in stabilizing a tree that's heading South, is to arrest leaf loss and root loss by as many means at our disposal as possible. This means (dare I ustter it?) that we may have to kill some bugs.

If I have a headache, I may take an aspirin to get some immediate relief. But if I really want to stop the headache, I have to address the imbalance in my life--stress, diet, rest, exercise--of which the headache is merely a symptom. This applies to sick trees as well. Look at the typical residential or commercial property that I visit (my YouTube videos provide examples of both). You will find that not every homeowner or property manager is willing to rip up the driveway or parking lot, eliminate the turf grass from every square inch of the tree's root zone (which can extend well beyond the drip line in most cases), apply compost, install a permanent mulch bed, cut off the irrigation, and cease any and all human activity that could cause soil compaction. And even if we were to succeed in retrofitting the ailing tree with the ideal cultural correction, we'd still have damaging and defoliating pathogens, insects and mites to contend with.

On that note, I regard the practice of keeping trees permanently under-the-weather and dependent on arboriceutical intervention to be nothing more than horticultural Muchausen-by-proxy Syndrome. 

This is not to say that I espouse the philosophy (held to one extent or another by anyone who believes in the existence of the State), that the end justifies the means. Quite the contrary: this is why I believe in using the least toxic, least harmful control available. And I'm not just talking about avoiding leaching into the water supply or protecting kids and pets. I want to avoid harm to beneficial insects, mites, fungi, bacteria--to wit, all the elements of a landscape's ecosystem, both above and below ground.

See, the science of pest and disease management has come a long way, as has our understanding of plant nutrition. It's been nearly 30 years since the company I work for abandoned the use of most harsh general pesticides, such as malathion, diazinon, Sevin, and Orthene. Why nuke 'em all, when nowadays you can target the pest without harming beneficials?

Now for a little calling-out of some of my brethren in the Green Industry.

I don't like being sold a bill of goods. I don't like the FDA telling me what's best for me and my family. I don't like hormones and antibiotics being sneaked into my food, and I don't like deceptive use of language. So when it comes to pest and plant disease management--as well as gardening, agriculture, diet, medicine, air, water and energy--what's most important to me is to ask whether one's practices cause unintended harm, harm to beneficial soil biology, non-pest insects and arachnids, non-pest plants, wildlife, pets, kids, people.
 I have long held that the terms "organic" and "chemical" are used disingenuously by so many garden show hosts, landscape architects, professors and other trendsetters in the Green Industry. The "organic" movement has frankly gotten out of hand, having in large part piggy-backed itself onto the more fascist/authoritarian aspects of the environmental movement as a whole.

I won't insult anyone's intelligence by pointing out the dictionary definition of "organic", which is any compound that contains carbon. If we dig down to the meaning of the original Greek word, organikos, which pertains to organs of the body, we learn how the term found its way into modern parlance. Early scientists thought that anything containing carbon came from a plant or an animal. Later, scientists discovered that numerous compounds containing carbon could be synthesized, putting that old notion to rest. But the notion that all things related to agriculture and horticulture should only come from plants or animals, persists. What most Green Industry professionals mean when they  use the term "organic" is "free from chemical pesticides or fertilizers", which begs the question: What is "chemical"?

Everything is chemical, in a manner of speaking. Every component of the physical world is composed of elements on the Periodic Table. The real question is whether the method you employ to solve plant problems such as nutrient deficiencies, diseases and pests, is harmful to people, pets, wildlife, or beneficial insects.

Many methods touted by radio show hosts as "organic" might better be described as "homeopathic". One example is aspartame. I have heard self-described "100% Organic" garden show hosts say that it's a great way to get rid of sugar ants in the kitchen. Well that may be--I've never tried it--but organic it surely ain't.

I'm more concerned with toxicity. I want to avail myself of the research in suppressing diseases and pests without harming non-target organisms. For instance, on any given spring day, we might find whitefly pupal casings, box elder bugs and genista caterpillars, all of which can really damage the plant. But at the same time, the plant might be covered with ladybugs, assassin bugs, and even praying mantis. The typical tree guy or landscaper will apply a general insecticide, which will upset the balance in unintended ways.

So, in summary, take radical ("radical" means pertaining to the root, by the way, and I'm using it in its most literal etymological sense, here) steps to promote healthy soil, and with time--and not as much time as conventional horticultural wisdom would have one believe--pests and diseases will become less and less of a problem in your landscape.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.

Post Oaks All Over Houston

2010 has been a tough year for post oaks in Houston. Some have died, while others have lost all or most of their leaves. Once a post oak has defoliated in the middle of the summer, it's really difficult to stabilize the plant and keep its systems going until the following spring, when the new foliage offers an opportunity for recovery. Post oaks are notoriously sensitive trees, and how they respond to site alterations, such as home construction, turf grass installation, irrigation installation, paving and landscaping, is a flip of the coin. Let's face it, if you have a post oak on your property or under your care, you should be prepared for it to die just to spite ya. If you have a post oak, and you're worried about its health, then don't panic. There may be a few simple corrections that can help keep it stable and (more or less) healthy.

What I've been looking at this summer have been three main sets of symptom expression. One is the flash, in which the entire tree flashes paper-bag brown. Another symptom is premature defoliation, wherein the leaves begin raining down from the tree. The leaves aren't necessarily brown in this case, but they may appear scorched. The third is leaf scorch; here, the leaves appear scorched, particularly at the ends, and leaves don't necessarily rain down wholesale from the crown. I happened to visit a property with all three of the above-mentioned symptoms in the same front yard, which you may look at in the linked YouTube Video. There are numerous other symptoms that can be identified on post oak, including sticky-cottony yuck on the leaves, nipple galls, stippling, powdery mildew, and others. I do not address them here, but I'll be happy to do so--just ask!

Flashing brown has over the years been called post oak decline. Whenever you hear the word "decline", you should understand that this is a generally amorphous term used to describe a set of symptoms or pattern of mortality, the causes of which have not been determined. I use the term in a different way; generally I use it to describe a tree that is slowly dying from the tip down, and that has multiple stress agents associated with the symptoms. Whenever I go onto a site to inspect a post oak that's flashed brown, The prognosis is always the same: the tree is dead and needs to come down. Determining a cause of death is difficult, because there are usually so many factors that can be pointed to. Every conceivable way the site was altered in the last few years is a possible causal factor. Is the home less than ten years old? Was an irrigation system recently installed? Was sod put down on the root zone? Was the grade changed? Is the soil compacted? What is the internal drainage like? What is the soil's organic content? These questions are important if you have surviving post oaks that you want to preserve, but they don't really change the prognosis about the one that's flashed.

Premature defoliation can frighten a homeowner or property manager just as much as flashing brown. It usually happens some time after midsummer, and well before normal fall leaf drop. Premature defoliation has many causes, including nutritional deficiency, root loss, root stress, drought, leaf spot disease and bacterial leaf scorch. The best ways to prevent premature defoliation are to promote healthy soils with good internal drainage, aeration, soil biology and high organic content, to eliminate turf grass from the entire root zone of the tree, to take the tree off the irrigation schedule, and to apply a layer of mulch, taking care not to bury the root collar. Topical leaf spot diseases can, as mentioned, cause premature defoliation. One of the best ways reduce spore counts on a property is to rake, bag and haul off (or compost) the leaves after they have fallen. While I will apply fungicide in the springtime to reduce the incidence of leaf spot disease, I usually only prescribe this course of action when the tree is either in an emergency state, or the homeowner or property manager is unable or unwilling to improve the growing conditions.

The third symptom is leaf scorch. Here, the leaves appear damaged, but don't necessarily fall from the tree. Note that there is some overlap here, between what I described above as defoliation and leaf scorch. There's this nifty little bacterial pathogen called Xylella fastidiosa, which is transmitted to the plant by some types of sucking insect. This has only recently been found to be the cause of decline and mortality of a great number of trees and landscape plants, the cause of whose problems was previously lumped into the "decline" category. While it's great to be able to pin the cause of one symptom, it's important to remember that when we're talking about the urban/suburban landscape setting, there are many other stress factors that need to be addressed. Bottom line, if your tree's leaves look scorched, and if you notice a little yellow halo between the brown, scorched area and the green part of the leaf, then it could have bacterial leaf scorch.

There is no cure for bacterial leaf scorch, and the disease usually causes slow decline and death. The symptoms can be suppressed, however, and this is a great way to get continued enjoyment out of one's trees. Symptom suppression can also be argued to prolong the life of the tree. This is only done in the spring--usually the spring following diagnosis. The only known treatment for suppressing symptoms is application of the antibiotic oxytetracycline by trunk injection. Please note that this is one of a very few instances in which I will advocate the injection of trees. I point this out, because there are so darn many arborists out there leaping on the trunk injection bandwagon for all manner of ailments--diagnosed and undiagnosed--from micronutrient deficiency, to fungal disease to borers. Before you ever sign on to a treatment regime that includes capsules or injections, please get a second opinion from a grown-up arborist.

While I'm on the topic of post oaks and diagnosis, let me address some common diagnoses bandied about by some of the other arborists out there. The most common are anthracnose, Asian ambrosia beetle and borers (gotta get them borers!).

Anthracnose is a general term used to describe a number of different symptoms on a number of different host plants, caused by a number of different pathogens, most of them fungal. Now, with a definition like that, it's little wonder that a homeowner can be confused by his or her arborist! Anthracnose isn't really a term I associate with post oaks, but there are some symptoms--usually fungal leaf diseases, and arguably even bacterial leaf scorch--that could, I guess, be described as anthracnose. In any case, I'd be wary of anyone who wants to spray fungicide at the time of diagnosis. In keeping with what I stated above, most fungal leaf diseases infect the foliage as they emerge in early spring, although the symptoms don't show up until later in the growing season. This does not mean that I never apply fungicide any time other than in the spring: quite often, in fact, I'll see newly emergent foliage on a tree--especially live oak--and apply fungicide to protect it. But we're talking about post oaks, and for me to observe newly emergent foliage on a post oak that has any of the above symptoms would be a surprise indeed.

Asian ambrosia beetle mainly attacks fruit trees, and post oak is not currently considered to be a host plant for this pest. There is a native ambrosia beetle, by the way, but it's not interested in oaks, either.

Borers are blamed for decline, decay, cavities, etc. more than just about anything. It's so easy to look at a distressed tree and find a hole or two on the trunk. See? Look here, there's borers on the trunk. There's your problem, right there! Fact is, most wood-boring insects are simply capitalizing on exposed dead wood. It's best to think of them as a friend: their presence can be evidence of decay that you might otherwise not have known about. So, while I may treat a tree to help suppress borers, it's usually a newly transplanted tree.

In summary, the recommendations I make for post oaks are the basically the same as the recommendations I make for all shade trees, only with ten times the urgency: promote healthy soil in the entire root zone of the tree, and it will have few problems. This means, in a nutshell, good soil organic matter. High organic content in the soil means good soil biology. Good soil biology  means good plant nutrition, decreased susceptibility to diseases, pests, moisture extremes and abiotic stress factors. Put a protective force field  around your tree, starting at the dripline, and don't allow the soil to become compacted. You just might get years of enjoyment out of your post oaks.

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. If you're looking for a TCIA Accredited Houston Tree Service or Certified Arborist, call the company I've worked for since 2002, Bartlett Tree Experts, at 713-692-6371. This is my personal blog--it is not affiliated with Bartlett Tree Experts.