# Our Live Oak Susan😀



## GreenLand

Hi all,
I wanted to keep track of Susan and our new to us Red Oak (yet to be named lol). The fert program started a year after we moved in. So this is her progress after a 1-1/2 of fert treatment.

Susan is actually the reason I found this site as I was in the search for assistance with her. We built this house 2-1/2 years ago. Susan was dieing no matter what we did. Box store treatments nothing helped. Most of the neighbors trees were dieing as well. I searched this site and had no luck in finding my resolve to help bring susan back to life so my search continued.

My prayers were answered when I found a site named Treehelp.com . I spoke to a guy named Paul and he assisted me with Susans issue. He suggested the oak tree fert kit. I will admit I was skeptical and only purchased the fert bag.

As you can see Susans progress the first pic was in the spring three months after the fert bag was put down into the soil. I just used a drill and the biggest bit I could find. Three months prior Susan had no leaves and her bark from the trunk 3ft up was pealing.

Since the fert bag seemed to be of a success I went ahead and kept the program going. By fall she had more leaves grown on the ends of her limbs. In the fall I purchased the oak tree fert kit with the drill operated tiller and put the fert kit down in late august. Then another kit was put down in the spring in march along with some box store compost and local dirt since I put the stone around her I had to build up the soil level. I tilled the new soil and kit in with the original soil as well. So a total of 2kits and one bag of fert. Has been put down.

We have high winds out here and since Susan's new growth she catches the wind like a baseball catcher and lays at approximately 45° angle. So much she is broken a little over a 1/3 at the base like someone cut her with a saw. Split along the dry pealing area on down to where the break st the trunk is. This will be a true testament to the Treehelp.com annual tree care kit. So stay tuned😀.

Also for us Texans Susan was the only tree in the neighborhood that survived that week of freeze we experienced.🤔🤗

Anywhoo here's the pics I have taken this far. Mind you she barely had any if at all leaves before the first pic so I never took one as I was embarrassed. Or maybe its in my first post on this site. I'll look.

Note the new growth coming from the trunk. Also she has flowered from the new growth and is full of bee's😀 its a beautiful site. I'm not getting rid of bee's or ants... They help...🤗


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## ionicatoms

Thanks for sharing. Susan will definitely help keep the Bermuda under control as she gets bigger. My St. Augustine loves my oak.

Here's my live oak:


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## GreenLand

ionicatoms said:


> Thanks did sharing. Susan will definitely help keep the Bermuda under control as she gets bigger. My St. Augustine loves my oak.
> 
> Here's my live oak:


Nice!!! Im sure Susan will be there in time. Bringing her back to life makes me not want to sell ever lol. I am really liking your lawn! Hopefully going organic from here on out will aid in a slower growing Bermuda lol. Last year I had to cut 2-3 times a week 😅


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## GreenLand

Susan catching some wind🍻 her trunk has grown a good deal since the last pic. I'll start keeping measurements.


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## Deadlawn

That missing bark is certainly a concern, but the callous rolls show the tree is actively attempting to repair the problem.

Above all, you should pull that mulch away from the trunk down to the root flare. That mulch is too high and is contributing to trunk rot.


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## GreenLand

Actually the bark, peel and rot are due to the texas summer sun. The sun sets on that side. Past few summers I wrapped the trunk in burlap mesh to stop that as it caused the peeling and rot. There is only like 2 inches of soil covering the root system which will break down as its organic matter. Little cedar mulch on top to aid in moisture retention. To give an idea of the soil used. A few months back the trunk had a nice donut mound surrounding it. She is most definitely healing and growing for sure. The callous rolls are from the looks of it the tree getting back to its original circumference. Looks like its pushing the dead out with new growth from behind it. It's very interesting to see the transformation in person.


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