# Newly planted live oak suddenly browning



## cd12ag (Jul 8, 2021)

I am not sure if this is the best place to post this, but I am hoping someone can help me understand what is happening to my recently planted live oak in our front yard. The tree that was originally planted in our front yard did not survive the freeze in February (located in DFW), so we replaced it in April. The new tree seemed to be doing well up until a week and a half or two weeks ago.

The new tree had only a few leaves when originally planted. A few weeks after planting it began growing new leaves and started to fill out its canopy. Roughly two weeks ago I began to notice that some of the leaves were beginning to brown. I drop watered the tree for roughly 30-45 minutes on Sunday last week (thinking the browning may be a water issue) but that did not seem to help. Below are several pictures of the tree over the past few months.

Does anyone know what might be the problem, or if there is anything I can do to save the tree?

I am not sure if this is important, but there were a few weeds that were growing near the tree's rootball that were there when I purchased the tree. I left those weeds alone for several months after planting the tree to avoid disturbing the rootball, but I manually pulled them a few weeks ago. Could that have caused a further problem for the tree?

*August 1st* [Today]


*July 27th*


*July 8th*


*July 7th*


*June 23rd*


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## Wiley (Dec 2, 2019)

@cd12ag I'm not an expert on newly planted trees but I have a property full of mature live oaks. During the warmer summer months the oaks tend to have some leaves that yellow/brown and then drop. My understanding is that the tree is in drought stress and drops leaves to help sustain life of the tree. I don't know if this is your particular issue but something to keep in mind. I'm currently in a drought and none of my oaks have irrigation and they're shedding leaves like crazy.

A couple of things to look at: are there any green leaves left on the tree? Does the base of the tree seem solid as though the roots have taken?


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## Kallgren (Nov 10, 2018)

I transplanted an apple in the middle of July and of course you lose a lot of root mass, which causes a lot of stress. Dropped leaves like crazy to conserve energy. I would suggest a deep water more frequently and for longer period. I set my hose to run about the diameter of a pencil and let it run for two hours, several times a week.

You might want to pull back some of the mulch at the base of the tree, the roots need to get some oxygen. You can suffocate a tree - just ask my neighbor - had some large trees removed last fall and the tree service chipped all the limbs onto the base of a mature oak, which is now sadly dead.


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## GreenLand (May 23, 2019)

My live oak needed help as well. That's actually what brought me to this site Paul at treehelp.com advised of the annual care pack. The care pack worked wonders over the span of a few months. You'll also want to purchase a watering stake like this one.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Corona-MAX-36-in-Root-Irrigator-LG13715/314032780

This will actually put water where it needs to be in the root zone. At this point you'll be looking for new growth and thats tough given the weather. My live oak grows in the early spring to early summer months with a little there after. There's a waiting period for new growth so you'll have to hang im there.


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## GreenLand (May 23, 2019)

Here is my live oak thread. It looked like yours before pics were taken.

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=28036


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## ALPHA (Aug 25, 2021)

I'd water once a week with a Tree Gator, which can be had on Amazon. There are probably nutrient spikes that could be added for root health, but live oaks don't grow here so I can't comment on their efficacy.


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## GreenLand (May 23, 2019)

Hi any luck on this?



cd12ag said:


> I am not sure if this is the best place to post this, but I am hoping someone can help me understand what is happening to my recently planted live oak in our front yard. The tree that was originally planted in our front yard did not survive the freeze in February (located in DFW), so we replaced it in April. The new tree seemed to be doing well up until a week and a half or two weeks ago.
> 
> The new tree had only a few leaves when originally planted. A few weeks after planting it began growing new leaves and started to fill out its canopy. Roughly two weeks ago I began to notice that some of the leaves were beginning to brown. I drop watered the tree for roughly 30-45 minutes on Sunday last week (thinking the browning may be a water issue) but that did not seem to help. Below are several pictures of the tree over the past few months.
> 
> ...


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## cd12ag (Jul 8, 2021)

@GreenLand Thank you for the reply/recommendation. Isabel not been on the site lately, so I am just now seeing your post. I just went to treehelp.com and purchased the annual card pack. I am also going to purchase the watering stake.

Thank you for the advice. I will report back in a few weeks with an update.


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## GreenLand (May 23, 2019)

Good deal. The annual care pack focuses on the tree's health, so new growth is a plus. Did you get the drill tiller hole digger attachment as well? That will help maximize the results. If no you can just make little holes to dump the fert and other ingredients in.


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## GreenLand (May 23, 2019)

Good deal. The annual care pack focuses on the tree's health, so new growth is a plus. Did you get the drill tiller hole digger attachment as well? That will help maximize the results. If no you can just make little holes to dump the fert and other ingredients in.



cd12ag said:


> @GreenLand Thank you for the reply/recommendation. Isabel not been on the site lately, so I am just now seeing your post. I just went to treehelp.com and purchased the annual card pack. I am also going to purchase the watering stake.
> 
> Thank you for the advice. I will report back in a few weeks with an update.


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