Hi,
I’d like your thoughts on how to
deal with some wilting problem I’m having with two young Northern Red Oak
trees. I donated, planted and have cared
for the two oak trees at our nearby park in Roseville. We planted the two 8’ tall trees in early May
2014.
They performed fine through the
summer and fall, however this year – almost immediately after forming leaves,
the leaves began “crumbling” or wilting. They’ve remained very light green, but have
wilted to the point that most leave are barely identifiable as oak leaves with
lobes.
Tree #1 is on the south side of a
wetlands, in a grassy area (not close to the actual wetland, seasonal pond) and
receives full sun for the majority of mid-morning until late afternoon. Tree #2 is on the north side of the wetland
(again, far above the actual wet area) and is partially shaded by larger trees
but still receives decent filtered sunlight. I mulched around both trees and have watered
them throughout the growing seasons– approximately (2) 5-gallon pails of
rainwater about 1x to 1.25 times per week. I put down some tree/bush fertilizer on Memorial
Day this year – but that’s it for fertilizer. I put some root starter in the water a year ago
on one occasion.
I checked tonight and the leaves
seem to be getting even worse – more crumpled and darker. The leaves have signs of some bugs eating them
– but not excessively. One of the
attached photos shows an insect on a leaf, however, I’ve not seen other
insects. The leaves at the top of the
north tree seem to be best holding their shape – most others are wilting.
I noticed some peeling flaking on
the underside of stalks – not sure if this is normal – please see attached
photos.
I’d appreciate your
thoughts/recommendations! It’s so sad to
think of losing these beautifu, young trees – and they seem to be getting
worse.
Thanks!
Pete
