Help! I bought a Shumard Red Oak two years ago... well, I guess it just finished its third growing season in my yard, and this fast growing tree has managed to grow 6 _inches_ since I bought it.
The tree looks healthy and happy. No signs of disease. I dug around it this summer and found no evidence of girdling roots. The only thing I can guess is that maybe I just planted it wrong... the ground here sucks, it's kinda in a bowl, and the nursery guy filled the hole with compost, and it was probably 3 inches too deep... I didn't learn until later that you should use native soil and not bury a tree. :-(
So my question -- how long should I give the tree until I just yank it and replace it? Is there any chance it might turn around, or is three growing seasons long enough to know that this tree is doomed. I want some shade and I don't want to give the tree another year if it will never pan out.
Shumard Red Oak Woes
First, I'd say that Shumard Red Oaks are only moderate as far as growth goes and that is under optimal growing conditions. Secondly, if you yank it and plant another, you'd be starting all over again so there is little to be gained shade or growth wise. Most oaks are a long term investment and take years to gain their full size and beauty.
Was the tree container grown or balled and burlapped when you bought it? Container grown will typically have more natural roots to start with while balled and burlapped means that the tree was dug and lost roots in the process. In the second case, planting shock plus the loss of roots will cause a lapse in amount of time before the tree recovers enough to start putting out new growth on top.
Did you add root stimulator regularly during the first year? Have you regularly fertilized and watered the area immediately surrounding the tree (fertilizing your grass by organic or chemical methods also helps the tree)? What was the size/height of the tree as originally planted?
If I recall correctly, Shumards are more native to areas farther north while live oaks are more native in your area. In this case though, live oaks are even slower growing to you'd gain nothing by swapping one for the other.
If the tree seems healthy at this point, I'd leave it and up your watering and fertilizing plan for a year to see what happens. At some point, perhaps next Spring, you'll be surprised to see much new growth and that will indicate that the tree has overcome any planting issues and will thrive...
Steve
Round Rock isnt enviro friendly to either red oak nor red maple, too much white rock on the caprock, even if you get it growin on up a little you could lose it. If you are searching for color, I would use a different tree than those 2. No, I have no suggestions for your area... thats a choice you need to look around at.
Don't give up on your Shumard Oak if it looks healthy.. We have one in our yard that was fairly small 4 years ago when we bought this house. It took off the second year that we were here and has more than doubled in size. It is a beautiful tree. We are in Pflugerville, so not very far from your location. Also, every house for a mile around us has two or more live oak trees in their yards. Some of them are about 20 years old, so oaks are surely suitable for our area. Feed it a little, give it water and just be patient.
My daughter lives here too and Shumard Oak was recommended to her by an arborist. It is slowly growing in it's second year. They have a very nice shape and eventually will provide a lot of shade.
This message was edited Oct 23, 2013 3:21 PM
Did you take the roots out of the clay ball nurseries hold them in? That is essential as well.
TxSkeeter makes some good points. As does Kitt. And I agree with Bezziec. I don't know how much you expected your oak to grow in just a few years, but 6" doesn't sound that bad to me. Are you just talking about height? What about girth?
I have 2 very large red oaks in Dallas. (Dunno what type of red oak.) When I bought my house in 1998, my neighbor had a small red oak that was about as big around as the downspout from my gutter and maybe 6' tall. (sorry, bad visual memory) I don't know how long it had been there, but within a few years after '98 it has turned into an absolutely magnificent tree. The house has flipped a number of times and I've never seen any of the owners actually do anything to the tree other than supply benign neglect and prob. water as they have a sprinkler system.
I think your expectations might be a little high. Give it some time. And I can't tell if you're saying it's 2 yrs old or 3, but either way, it's still a babe.
This message was edited Oct 23, 2013 3:37 PM
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'll give the tree some time and TLC and see what it does. I know my yard is an awful spot, I got about 2 feet down and it's solid limestone.
Red oaks require a soil ph of 6.8 to 3., do not tolerate heat well, but are capable of zone 8-need a north or east facing slope or area, and a ton of room to spread out-will not produce acorns til at least 40yrs, can tolerate calcerous soils, but are prone to chlorosis, and oak wilt. There are areas around you with deeper soil and less caprock that may have no trouble growing red oaks, and they NEED to be able to go deep or they will spread wide shallow roots that destroy sidewalks and fall over easy. Texas soil is more alkaline in many places than you might be aware of, but it WILL make a difference to growth as well. Have you checked ph?
I didn't know that it takes at least 40 years to produce acorns. I have lots of acorns if anyone would like some.
Kitt makes a very valid point about oak wilt disease. I lived in Austin in the late 80s and early 90s and saw the destruction of hundreds of beautiful live oaks and red oaks due to oak wilt disease. Having witnessed that horrific event, I would not recommend getting either a live oak or a red oak just for that reason. But that doesn't mean that I think you should play George Washington and go out and chop down the cherry tree.
As previously mentioned, when I bought my house here in Dallas it came with 2 very large and I imagine very old red oaks. And I am very paranoid. I probably have at least 4 certified arborists on speed dial!
When w bought our land in 85, it was just a flat piece of land
(Houston black clay with limestone fragments) , unimproved
farm land with nothing but Johnson grass on it. First thing
I did was plant 4 ft tall trees on it including one red oak and
one Shumard red oak (since we live in Red oak, I thought it
only appropriate ) :)
For the first years it seemed to do nothing. At one point, we
sent leaves to the county extension agent, who told us just
to water more. We did so, I remember Hubby saying he would
be an old man or dead before those trees grew enough for
him to hang a hammock and enjoy the shade.
Finally the plain red oak died & never came back.
But the shumardii and sweet gum are huge. Probably 25-30 feet
tall minimum and very full and beautiful. We never water them,
they survive on rainwater only.
In my experience it is simply a slow-start, but slow-growers are
also stranger survivors and more valued because they don't splinter,
split or go down in any little old breeze.
If you are patient, you will be glad you were, and be pleased with
your tree. f you decide to give up, I will be glad to take it off yor
hands !
Hope it is really a shumardi red oak. I bought a tree labeled as one in spring 2002, and it started getting yellow green leaves with black tips in 2007, I finally cut it down last year before it got oak wilt and managed to take out my healthy live oak with contagion. Turned out it wasn't a shumardi, it was an east texas tree that is a cross and doesn't do well with limestone underground, as it got bigger the roots got deeper and trouble started. I also have a young water oak I started from an acorn, and having now reached 15 ft it is starting to do the same. The arborist I talked to warned me it would, they just want more acidity down deep and that is where I cannot get it. Unfortunately.