I have a large oak tree that appears to be dying. How can I help it?

Question

I have a large oak tree that appears to be dying. How can I help it?

Answer 1

Is there mulch around it?  Has there been a raised bed made around it after it was already growing there?  When you say large, how large do you mean? (height, trunk diameter)  If it is a really old tree, that could be the problem. Also, it possibly may have succumbed to disease. really need more info and some pics if possible to tell more.

Putting too much mulch or building a raised bed around the base of an existing tree WILL kill it ...not instantly, but what it does is prevent air from reaching the crown of the roots..roots need air for the tree to survive.

Answer 2

Signs of serious damage in an oak are often a sign of a mortal blow.  Damage by earth-movers or construction that remove critical sub-grade bark can take years to kill the tree, but will eventually do so.  They can also be weakened by changes in soil moisture or soil level around their roots and then fall prey to insects.  Thirdly, they can suffer from lightning strikes that will cook their living transport system just under the bark.  And any "girdling" or damage around a large portion of the trunk where the bark is cut - by a string trimmer or by insects in mulch that was set too high against the base of the tree - will kill the tree quite quickly.

You can call an arborist to look at it (a tree doctor,basically) but major losses of leaves in mid summer or dropping of larger limbs on a regular basis, and shedding of bark are all signs of a tree that is already dying and you should think about having it removed.   Now they will drop some smaller limbs now and then - those should be almost decomposed, though, and sometimes have mushrooms already growing on them - that is normal now and then, but if big limbs are droping or you are cutting limbs and the center of the limb is brown, then it is dying from Anthracnose, or black heart disease, which is a common soil-borne disease found in trees along waterways.  Brown curled leaves that do not drop are particulary bad - a sign the branches are dead.