Need Help with Tree...

My Friend has something in her trees called Blight. You might try to call John @ Granulawn ###-###-####. I don't know if he goes out to where you live.

Our native POST OAK trees don't do very well in a new suburban development. First reason: the majority of a tree's roots are in the top 3-inches of soil. That soil usually gets scraped away during construction. Second reason: they can't take the amount of water that a lawn is given. Third reason: the roots extend out in a circle that has a radius equal to the height of a tree. Just imagine the tree laid over on it's side and spin it in a circle. If the soil inside of that circle was disturbed in any way, then the tree has lost roots. Examples of disturbing the soil: cutting a driveway, bull-dozing for a foundation of a house, cutting ditches for a sprinkler system, parking heavy tractors under the tree and compressing the soil, so air does not get to the roots, or covering the root zone under the tree with several inches of new topsoil before laying sod (which in effect buries the tree's roots and smothers it). It usually takes 2-3 years before a post oak will show distress and starts dying from this type of root disturbance.

Don't WASTE your money trying to save it. It's sad, but it happens every day in North Texas. Most of the area's builders don't have a CLUE about "root zones" and don't adequately protect the zone during construction. Just "apologize" to that tree and "Now that you know better, you can do better!"

Plant a new NATIVE TREE. Weston Gardens in south Ft. Worth (Anglin Dr. south of 820) is a good resource for a list of native trees. They may even have the LIST posted online. When I first moved to N. Texas 23 years ago, I tried several non-native Oklahoma-type-species of red oak trees from Home Depot and watched them die. Then I planted a lace-bark elm that I purchased from Weston Gardens and after 10 years it is beautiful and has lots of shade. However, Weston Gardens is quite a drive from Flower Mound. You might try Lantana Nursery in Lantana on FM 407 (Bartonville??) There was a wonderful, wise woman named RICA POTENTZ there. She was in my Texas Master Naturalist class. She would be a great person to answer your plant-related questions. She is the one who created the volunteer-planted TEXAS NATIVE landscape at LISDOLA. (Lewisville ISD Outdoor Learning Area).

~ E. Parry
Texas Master Naturalist Class of 2000

Check with Hartwells Nursery. They are on the north bound access road to 35E Just after Valley Ridge. They are in with all those boat shops over there. I don't know if they have an arborist but they are very knowelgeable.

J.,

I was VERY impressed with Advanced Tree and Shrub Care 214-544-TREE (8733). Rick Zampino is highly qualified and I believe holds the most expert certifications of any company in the DFW metroplex. He saved our dying Chinese Pistashio. Another specialist seemed utterly baffled at what caused the problem or how to fix it. He basically told us to prepare for the funeral. Rick knew immediately what caused it and had confidence it would come back. The tree is still weak and damaged, but it did not die. It holds our daughter's swings!

Good luck~

First, you may want to try Sick Tree Treatment. Howard Garrett (The Dirt Doctor) swears by it. I think you can get it at any organic gradening center.

Hi J.,

I can highly recommend Brian Butler to you. He lives right in Lewisville. He takes care of our trees and always gives us great help and advice. He's been doing it forever--grew up working with his dad. He is very pleasant and polite and trustworthy. (He was an Eagle Scout.)

We are family friends, and our boys have gone to school and Scouts together. You can reach him at ###-###-####.

Hope this helps! Good luck with the tree.

D. B.

I would call or stop by Huggins Nursery in Flower Mound. They have always been very helpful. Family owned and they pass on pricing discounts they get to their customers. I won't go anywhere else after working with them on my landscaping and them giving me advice on some issues with my trees.

Huggins Nursery
1616 Arrowhead Drive
Flower Mound, TX 75028
(866) 613-9048
http://www.huggins-nursery.com/

good luck

We recently bought a house that was foreclosed on and we could not get the trees to leave or come back and my landscaper said to cut them down. I felt horrible not knowing so I bought an inexpensive root stimulator that hooks to a water hose and you put some sort of tree food in it, stick it deep in the ground (directions come with it) and turn the water to the hose on and "FEED" it. Within two days they came back and leaves sproted all over it. They are not dead in most cases, just need some root stimulator and some TLC. It takes patience but they are not dead.