Home owners are frequently stunned when a tree that appeared to make it through the drought last year “suddenly” dies. Actually, trees take a long time to die. Many trees that appear to be dying now have been dying all year from the drought. It wasn’t just the drought that killed them, but the high temperatures last year.
Water Cooled
Trees use water to cool themselves. When there is inadequate water, they can’t cool off and their cells literally cook.
Leafing Out Finished Them Off
Many trees showed that they were dying when they began trying to leaf out. The extra energy required for this act finished them off. However, many more are showing they are dying now during the summer and fall. More hot temperatures and more drought finished them off.
Symptoms of Dying
What are the symptoms that tell you your tree is dead or dying? Failure to leaf out is one of the most obvious symptoms. Sometimes, trees leaf out but them the leaves turn brown and die. For evergreens, the needles on all or part of the tree turn brown. Another symptom is a fungal infection that causes the bark to shed. Woodboring insects move in to dying trees, too.
How To Help Your Tree
What should you do if you think your tree is dying? Call a certified arborist to look at the tree and tell you if it is dying, if it can be saved, or if it needs to be removed.
Losing a tree is very traumatic, especially if it is a big one. By one count, Texas will lose one fifth of its’ trees because of the drought in 2011. If your tree is one of them, remember that a dead tree is a safety hazard and you are liable if it damages property or worse, hurts someone. Remove it promptly to protect property and life.
Want to learn to garden? My first attempt at gardening ended up in failure. The weeds took over and squeezed the vegetables out. I was very frustrated by this waste of good seed, time, and money. So I became a master gardener and spent a lot of time helping other people avoid or overcome problems in their garden.
In order to help others garden successfully, I have written a book, Vegetable Gardening from the Ground Up, available in an ebook or a paperback from Amazon. It is also in Kindle Unlimited.
