I have a lot of chestnut oaks in my woods that have been killed by something. These have been providing me with plenty of lumber and firewood. Now, I see a dead standing white oak. I sincerely hope this is a one-off. I would hate to lose my white oaks too. This tree will make some awesome lumber - about 22" dbh, straight , clean and tall. At least 30-40 ft to first branch.
Sorry to hear that something is killing off your trees. (oaks) As if we don't have enough dealing with EAB.
So far, this is the only white oak I've seen dropping it's bark. I really hope this is a one-off. If so, I'll get some awesome lumber logs and firewood, but my overall woods will remain healthy.
Maybe when you get it cut down and cut into slabs and firewood you will find out what killed the tree.
Too bad to see nice trees die off. Hopefully you don’t have Oak wilt. Could there have been stress from repeated gypsy moth defoliation and a very dry summer which allowed other pests to take advantage? As I recall 2 summers ago it was pretty dry.
damm gypsy moth caterpillars were bad here the past 2-3 years. Combined with drought conditions, I'm hoping the oaks around here are able to come back. We did have a wet spring in 2017, so maybe the fungus was able to kill off alot of them critters. I do know that I am not seeing nearly as many of the egg masses this year, compared to last year. Sent from my SM-T280 using Tapatalk
It's my understanding that because white oak leaves have smaller pores that are clogged with tyloses, it makes them more resistant to the oak wilt fungus. Chestnut oak is also considered to be in the white oak family. The beetles that typically transmit the wilt fungus do not have mandibles, However, gypsy moth activity can introduce the wilt fungus because they chew on the leaves and introduce wounds susceptible to the fungus the beetle carries. Oaks with the wilt typically die from the top down. You will also usually notice discoloration of the sap wood just under the bark. This usually presents as brown spots or streaks in cross cut samples. Mike I strongly recommend you hit up the TCIA or ISA website and find a certified arborist to do a disease risk assesment. Oak wilt is much easier to control than Dutch Elm disease, but it's been devastating in some areas regardless.
I had our local State Forester out here a couple years ago and he noticed the chestnut oaks dying. He said they were too far gone already to know what killed them but he said gypsy moths were most likely. A local arborist friend of mine says it's happening all over the county. I usually keep a close eye on my trees and so far only one dead white oak, so probably a one-off. If any more white oaks start dying, I'll definitely get a professional involved.
