Here are our top five tips, Fertilization. Fertilizer gives your live oak the nutrients it needs to increase its ability to capture sunlight so it can produce food and energy. Covering the ground properly is the key to the survival of an oak tree. Never handle a live oak.
Mature oaks do not require pruning except to remove dead, weakened, diseased or dangerous branches. If pruning is necessary, trees should be pruned in the dry season. Young trees need fertilizer to grow, while mature oaks need fertilizers to maintain health. You need to fertilize in spring, late summer or autumn, when rains will help wash nutrients through the soil to reach all parts of the root system.
Although you can apply a balanced fertilizer with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, it is also safe to fertilize with a nitrogen-based fertilizer, the kind that the surrounding lawn can also appreciate. You can also let the leaves that fall from deciduous oaks stay in the soil, as they saturate the soil with nutrients as they break down. It is essential that this giant oak tree develops a strong branch structure while it is young. Prune several leaders to leave one trunk and remove branches that form acute angles to the trunk.
Taking proper care of live oaks means pruning trees every year for the first three years. Never prune in early spring or the first month of summer to avoid attracting insects that spread oak wilt disease. This will not cause lasting damage to the tree and allows you to inject a fungicide that will eliminate the disease from the tree. Use as directed on the product label to feed tree roots and help your tree heal from its recent illness.
Healthy trees can be attacked by diseases due to excess water, mushroom bloom, or broken branches that open a “wound” on your tree. This deciduous tree tolerates air pollution and poor drainage, making it also an excellent tree for urban gardens. Removal is not always an option, especially if the infection has spread all over the tree or to the top, where it is not easily accessible. Evergreen oaks provide year-round color to a garden, while deciduous oaks provide shade during sunny summers.
Below are some common trees and their growth rates, with an example of calculating the age for a tree that is 5 feet (60 inches) in circumference. So if you have oak trees in your backyard, consider these five tips on how to take care of the health of oaks. Fungal infections can cause serious damage to oak trunks, and even prevent the transport of water and nutrients through the tree. But if you see damage on any small, accessible branch, it's best to remove it when you can to prevent further damage to your oak tree.
Often, Mercker explains, the sugar (energy) needed to maintain the tree exceeds its production, causing the tree to die. A sick and dying oak can be saved by pruning dead branches, discarding diseased branches and leaves, spraying or injecting the tree with fungicide, and caring for the tree with proper fertilization, mulching and watering tactics. Removing grass under the tree's crown redirects much-needed resources to the tree, helping it thrive in its old age. Mercker points out that veteran trees have stood the test of time, adding: “Old trees know how to live; they have survived drought, heat, frost and flooding and have adapted.
If you are thinking of a live oak that grows in your garden, consider the size, shape and other facts about live oak before launching. An oak should not be watered more than once a month under any circumstances, although if a tree is uprooted or grafted, there may be some additional measures that will help your oak survive. .
