Dying Trees?

[VirginiaAgent]

I'm in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. It has been very dry the past month, and very hot.

I think you guys have hit it on the head about this likely being a combination of soil compaction, dry ground, and more sunlight than they are used to.

The loggers left the stumps, but I have had an excavation company pulling them up for the past week. The loggers used massive skidders and a feller buncher, 40 thousand pounds each.

I told the excavators not to pull stumps within 20 feet or so of the trees to save. I wonder if that was still too close.

The fence is going to be pretty close to a couple of the suspect trees. I think, as suggested, I'll try to talk to an arborist and hopefully give them some time to recover. The analogy about a tomato plant going in to shock and wilting seems like it would logically apply to a large tree as well.

Thanks for the insight. VA

 

[Ford850]

I would talk to an arborist right away. This is a critical time of year for the trees, since they need their leaves to start sending energy back to the roots to survive the winter.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Cool. I grew up in Hampton Roads.

Regarding the "20 feet"...it's more of a dripline thing than a distance thing. If heavy machinery stays outside of all limbs on a tree if the canopy was projected straight down, the tree should be OK. If they are within the "dripline", you risk compacted roots. Larger trees require a larger berth. And those skidders are certainly heavy enough to do some damage.

 

[8934]

Several potential issues

1) Feeder roots can extend like 5 times further than the tree canopy. These roots are small, and driving heavy equipment over them espically on uncompacted soil can break or damage them - this usually takes a while to show up.

2) Sun plants can get sunburned. Depending on how many other trees were nearby they could have been partially shading the tree. Try it for yourself, take a houseplant outside and set in direct sun see how fast it reacts.

3) Physical damage to tree which should be obvious.

4) Dead/dying trees attract insects, if any debris is left from logging insects could be attacking only remaining food source.

An Arborist would be best, but in the mean time Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Care - Bayer Advanced

Will do wonders if you get it applied ASAP.

Good luck!

 

[charlz]

In additional to extra sun they might also be getting more wind than usual which can dry the leaves out. I'd wait at least one season before deciding whether they were dying or not.

 

[twarr1]

In additional to extra sun they might also be getting more wind than usual which can dry the leaves out. I'd wait at least one season before deciding whether they were dying or not.

I cleared a big oak that was surrounded by thick brush a few years ago and the next year I was pretty sure it was dead. But it came back stronger than ever. I suppose it was stressed by the change in conditions; i.e. more sunlight, different moisture conditions, wind, etc. The tree is doing great now and I think it is better off in the long run.
Don't make a hasty decision just yet, I would also suggest waiting until at least the end of next season to determine the true condition.
With that said, there is also the possibilty (small I would think) that the trees have some sort of disease. I know oak wilt can kill a red oak in a matter of days. It's endemic here in Central Texas, we've lost literally millions of trees, so you might consider the suggestion to get an arborist out to have a look.

 

[Taylortractornut]

Trees are alot more sensitive than most think., You can kill an oak tree by dumping a 3 inch layer of topsoil around the base. When I worked for Huffman we did an excavation on the Tennessee river and didnt have alot of room so we had to put the spoils in the woods. We had 3 rules dont contact a tree with a machine, dont take and topsoil, and we had a time limit till spring to have that removed.
When they clear cut I hate to see them leave some trees like sour dood because they daie off shortly afterwards. My first neighbor had a lot of trees he damaged with a tractor and a rental dozer they looked dead some stayed dormant 2 years.

 

[Brokermike]

I had a similar problem and found a tree company called Bartlett Tree Experts. They did a root invigoration. My oak is now coming back strong. Big trees require special care. Try finding a Bartlett Arborist