Could you grow a huge Live Oak tree by ...

[beppington]

... feeding it lime?

A local EPA guy told me those huge 100-year-old Live Oaks thrive on lime.

I just wonder if you could "help" a smaller Live Oak, that seems to have hit its max size, get way bigger buy fertilizing it with lime.

I know they grow very slowly.

 

[captaincrab55]

... feeding it lime?

A local EPA guy told me those huge 100-year-old Live Oaks thrive on lime.

I just wonder if you could "help" a smaller Live Oak, that seems to have hit its max size, get way bigger buy fertilizing it with lime.

I know they grow very slowly.

Not sure if this may help or not, but one could research the Wye Oak Tree..

The Quiet Giant, The Wye Oak | Forest Service | Maryland Department of Natural Resources

 

[MMagis]

Lime is not a fertilizer. It neutralizes the soil pH to allow plants to make use of the nutrients already in the soil. The short answer would be no.

 

[smstonypoint]

Lime is not a fertilizer. It neutralizes the soil pH to allow plants to make use of the nutrients already in the soil. The short answer would be no.

Agreed, a proper pH is required to make efficient use of current nutrients and those that might be added later by fertilizing. Your best bet is to take a soil sample to determine the current pH and nutrient levels. I'm not sure whether the soils lab will (or can) provide pH and fertilizer recommendations for a live oak, but an arborist or nursery may.

Steve

 

[zzvyb6]

I have a few really old oaks and hickories that seemed like they were getting tired. Out by the road, the Road Commission has been putting salt down and that's not helped, either. I bought some tree fertilizer stakes from a lawn & garden place and pounded them into the root areas as per the instructions. (I seem to remember a few per tree at a distance 10 - 15 ft from the trunk.

Well now the trees look terrific. They even have started new growth from some of the lower limbs that I was about to trim off. I saw a huge increase in nut production, too, which the squirrels have taken note of.

Not sure if this is relevant, but at the same time I got a few honeybee hives. That has resulted in an increase in wildflower populations, but all the trees seem to be in better shape, including maples, pines, ash and some new birches. The bees cover a huge amount of territory, even the neighbors have noticed the increased bee presence.

Anyways, the fertilizer stakes plus the bees seem to have produced a "feel good" appearence as far as the large trees are concerned. You can see it in the Spring when viewing them and bushes using 'blue blocker' sunglasses. The healthy growth is a rich green while the ill trees are a lighter color. Mine now look great. Down the road, they look like they are slowly dying.

 

[beppington]

zz ... What diameter tree trunks are yours? How long did the improvement take? Are you seeing growing tree trunk diameters, or just lush leaves where there were none?

The smaller trees I'm interested in "helping" appear to be perfectly healthy. It's just that there are a few HUGE oaks, 5'+ in diameter, some of which are dying or are actually standing there dead ... I'm looking to "encourage" some of the 10" - 15" diameter oaks (which may eventually naturally replace those bigger dead/ dying ones anyway) to become as huge as they can be sooner

Thanks for all the info ... !

 

[zzvyb6]

I did the tree fertilizer spikes in the spring of 2008, but didn't notice the extra growth until the spring and summer of 2009. The full leaf growth is the first thing everybody notices. (I believe there is a word for this part of the tree (Crown??)). There is some bark repairing going on and less bark is falling off the tree (as my lawnmower will atest to). Mine are about 36 - 45 inches and have solid trunks. There are quite a few on the road with hollowed out trunks now.

I see that on eBay there are Miracle Grow and Jobe brands of tree fertilizer stakes on sale with specific fertilizer 'recipes' for pine, citrus, fruit, etc.

I don't remember what brand mine were or even what type of tree they were for.

 

[captaincrab55]

Arborgreen made by Davey Tree is one of the better Tree Fertilizers..

 

[Big Bri]

we drive 2" pvc pipe into the ground (you have to pull it out and clean out the dirt and then reinsert) around the trees. let the pipe stick out about an 1" so you can find them later, fill it with 10 10 10 fertilizer and it will feed for a year. just refill as need.

 

[beppington]

Big Bri, that's a good, simple idea!

Here's a pic the size oaks I'd like to try to help get huge; As I said, there are other huge ones around the property, but many seem to be on their way out, & I'd just like more of them even if those hang in there for a long time:

 

[Big Bri]

i'm no arbourist(spelled that one wrong) but i think you would also have to thin out the area. I've had luck with topping smaller oak trees (less than 25' tall) and that help "fill them out". But i think the area you are showing in your pic is to dense to allow the trees to "thicken"
good luck

 

[MarkV]

Looking at your photo it looks like you have spanish moss. That usually means you live in the Southeastern US, you don't say in your profile so it is hard to give good regional advice. If you are in the Southeast you most likely have gotten good advice. Down our way our soil tends to be acidic and lime is called for in most situations to balance the PH. The vegetation can't take full advantage of the available nutrients unless the PH is right. The only way to know for sure is to have a soil test done.

Fertilizer sure can't hurt and will most likely help. If you don't work on the PH though the fertilizer really can't do it's job.

MarkV

 

[gauthier]

Yeah,maybe,or kill it,and if it didn't kill it you would have to wait 100 years to tell

 

[MarkV]

Yeah,maybe,or kill it,and if it didn't kill it you would have to wait 100 years to tell

Not sure what post you are referring to? If mine, do you think lime is a bad thing in the Southeast? All I know is all of my soil tests I've had done call for more lime to balance the PH. From what they tell me that is pretty much the case all over the Southeast U.S.. What part of the world are you in? You don't say in your profile? Things do very greatly from region to region.

MarkV

 

[beppington]

Mark ... Alachua Co, FL

 

[clemsonfor]

I think i was told in school, by DNR when talking about fertilizing native natural trees here in SC to use 2lbs per 1" diameter of truck at DBH (4.5ft from ground) of triple 17 or 10 in the spring just before leaf out and a rain. Lime like others said lowers PH. With out ph as close to neutral as possible (7) the nutrients are not availible for uptake, so long story short if your ph is 8 or 9 or 4 or 5 you are just having most of your fertilizer leach into the ground where the roots will not uptake it. It takes 6 months for lime to start working LOWERING PH, if you have basic soils do not add lime.

 

[MMagis]

It takes 6 months for lime to start working LOWERING PH,

Lime raises pH.

 

[Angelus]

beppington,

You mentioned that some of the large 5' diameter live oaks were dying. I would try to figure out why that is.

As Big Bri said, clearing out the area will provide more light and faster growth. Also, if the "dying" that you mentioned are branches dying, and not the trunk dying, then the cause of that is most likely lack of light. Opening up the area will encourage the live oaks to spread instead of growing so upright.

A soil sample can be taken to rule out ph problems, but live oaks (like all oaks) are acid-loving. So raising the ph with lime could do more harm than good. If you see yellow leaves, that means the ph is too high and the tree cannot get enough iron out of the soil. Very unlikely in mature forest trees. But if you add lime, you could cause this problem.

Regarding fertilization of live oaks, a reference book I have recommends applying a 1/2 pound of 13-13-13 per year age of the tree in late winter to promote faster growth. Says growth can be "greatly accelerated" by doing this.

Hope that helps. A certified arborist's opinion about this is probably worth the money though. Good luck.

 

[beppington]

I'll take a few pics of the dying ones & post them ASAP.

I guess I assumed it was the natural life cycle of the trees, but maybe there is some diagnosis needed.

Thank you all ...

 

[clemsonfor]

Lime raises pH.

woops, brain fart yep you got it, i had my ph scale reversed in my head. You are correct acid is low #'s and basic is high. i admit to being an idiot sometimes.