Ok. Got a big ol' pin oak in my front yard, I dunno, 40+ feet tall? It's big, I'm gonna guess it's been here since the house was built in '77 or '78. It sits right in front, between the house and the street. It's west of the house, so it provides a lot of shade in the afternoons on the roof, helping keep the place cool and all.
We had a bunch of dead stuff trimmed off of it by a company about 2 or 3 years ago. Then we had some more guys come out 2 weeks ago and trim out a TON of more dead stuff. It's like there's just more and more of it dying off, but it IS putting out new growth. It is still trying. I don't see any evidence of bore worms, and neither did the tree trimmers. There was a big ol' squirrel nest or something up in there that they pulled out, but nothing else, really. The dead stuff was everything from 1" branches to large 4"+ limbs. It goes all the way to the top. We do have a few moles from grubworms or something, but we have Lawn America come out 4 or 5 times per year and are treating for those as well, trying to eradicate the worms in hopes the moles will follow.
There are no termites, we did have some in the house 3 or 4 years ago and had Orkin come out and drill the holes all around and in the concrete and such, as well as the annual contact to keep them away. Again, no evidence of any termites.
The tree guy mentioned a couple of tree diseases, maybe a mold, or who knows what. There was some black-looking stuff under the bark of some of the dead limbs, but I can't say if that was before or after they died. I don't see anything new, so I am hoping it was post-mortem for those limbs.
I was thinking the OSU Extension Center would help homeowners attempt to diagnose and treat, provide advice, etc. I thought they used to send someone out to examine, provide expertise and possibly take samples, but I don't know if they still do. Is anyone here associated with such an organization, or do you know what I can do to try to get on top of this before I lose this tree? It's a big 'un, and it provides a ton of character and shade on our property... if it dies, not only will it cost me a small fortune to have it safely removed and not drop on my house, but it's going to change the whole character of our block. I don't want to do that.
Anyone got any advice?
We had a bunch of dead stuff trimmed off of it by a company about 2 or 3 years ago. Then we had some more guys come out 2 weeks ago and trim out a TON of more dead stuff. It's like there's just more and more of it dying off, but it IS putting out new growth. It is still trying. I don't see any evidence of bore worms, and neither did the tree trimmers. There was a big ol' squirrel nest or something up in there that they pulled out, but nothing else, really. The dead stuff was everything from 1" branches to large 4"+ limbs. It goes all the way to the top. We do have a few moles from grubworms or something, but we have Lawn America come out 4 or 5 times per year and are treating for those as well, trying to eradicate the worms in hopes the moles will follow.
There are no termites, we did have some in the house 3 or 4 years ago and had Orkin come out and drill the holes all around and in the concrete and such, as well as the annual contact to keep them away. Again, no evidence of any termites.
The tree guy mentioned a couple of tree diseases, maybe a mold, or who knows what. There was some black-looking stuff under the bark of some of the dead limbs, but I can't say if that was before or after they died. I don't see anything new, so I am hoping it was post-mortem for those limbs.
I was thinking the OSU Extension Center would help homeowners attempt to diagnose and treat, provide advice, etc. I thought they used to send someone out to examine, provide expertise and possibly take samples, but I don't know if they still do. Is anyone here associated with such an organization, or do you know what I can do to try to get on top of this before I lose this tree? It's a big 'un, and it provides a ton of character and shade on our property... if it dies, not only will it cost me a small fortune to have it safely removed and not drop on my house, but it's going to change the whole character of our block. I don't want to do that.
Anyone got any advice?
