Shumard oak problems?

I planted two 12ft tall Shumard oaks in my front yard in April. They were bought from a local nursery and were in pots. They looked good for a while but lately the leaves have been turning pale green and then brown on tree 1 and somewhat brown around the edges (the leaves are dark green rather than pale green). They also developed tiny rough textured dark brown specks on the bottoms of the leaves. Both trees have them but the pale tree (tree 1) has many more than the dark tree.
The trees get mid day to late evening sun.

The ground is thick clay and we have had a very wet May and June. Could these problems be from too much water, not enough water, lack of fertilizer, fungus, pests or what?

Here's some pics I put in my Photobucket:
http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d118/gotrektheslayer/trees/

Can't help you with the spots, but please take a moment to check the planting depth of your trees. I can't view the bases of them in the photos but did notice that the plants in the background have mulch piled up fairly high at their bases. Just take your fingers and feel all around the point where your trees enter the ground and pull the mulch back. The flare- the point where the trunk starts turning into roots- needs to be above ground. Roots need air. And it wouldn't hurt to do this with all your plants- as I make my daily rounds I am forever pulling back mulch.

Good luck- I hope someone comes by to help you further.

Just occurred to me- we have a jumping gall here (wasp eggs) that causes spots on our white oaks- take a leaf to your cooperative extension agent (white pages under county) and ask them what's up in your area. I have even emailed them photos and found them to be very happy to help- that's what they're there for.

Thanks for the tips.

Today I noticed that about half of the leaves on the pale tree have started turning brown. That's almost double the amount from yesterday. The other tree looks about the same.

Could the mulch be causing the tree to become water logged? We've had a lot of rain in past few weeks and soil is clay. The weather here is hot, humid, dry and rainy.

This message was edited Jun 10, 2010 7:58 PM

Update:

More leaves are turning brown. None have fallen of though. They are not dry yet either.

I don't remember the exact size of the pots but I think they were 40" wide and 30" deep. The hole was about a foot deeper and 2 feet wider.

In April while the weather was dry I was giving each tree two gallons of water a day through a 1.5 inch pvc pipe with .25 inch drain holes drilled in it. The pipes are directly behind the root ball on the edge of the hole. In May and June it's been so rainy I have not watered them. The only fertilizer was put on the grass during the spring. Nothing directly on the tree. The nursery said they would not need any this year.

I'll try to get some better pics tomorrow.

Would it hurt anything if I dug down next to the edge of the hole and checked the soil?

No, the trees are ground level. I put loosened soil back into the bottom of the hole so it wouldn't be sitting on hard clay.

I think the problem might be that they are just adjusting to being newly planted. Even if watered and mulched they can still be stressed a little.

Another possibility is the "clay bathtub" effect. When you have clay soil but amend your planting hole with nice soil, you add a lot of water and it drains nicely down to the bottom of the planting hole, but then the clay underneath drains very slowly so the bottom layer of soil in the hole stays too wet for too long. So you end up with an effect similar to if you planted something in a container without drainage holes.

I raked away the much and it was wet underneath. When I lifted the trees the root ball was damp but not overly wet. I guess the much was diverting the rain water?

Anyway, I raised the trees so the flare would be a bit above ground level. This should help with future setlling.

I also watered the trees for a while and will check them again this evening.

How long should I wait to allow the grass to grow up to the trunk? Will grass compete with the for water?

Don't let the grass grow up to the trunk. Always maintain a mulch of some kind. NEVER use a weedeater around a tree. You probably already know this.

The sick tree has very few green leaves left. The brown leaves are dry but have not fallen yet.
I watered the tree around 7am today and the hole the tree is in is still wet. Looks like it is holding water.

More pics from this afternoon.

http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d118/gotrektheslayer/sick%20tree/

Still think it is planted too deeply.
Between that and the lack of drainage it is suffocating.

Sounds like you do have the "clay bathtub" effect going on, and I also agree that they're still planted too deep. You should be able to see the beginning of the root flare at the base of the tree and your tree looks like it just goes straight into the ground. From the look of the leaves it may be getting a bit late to save it but if you want to try, I'd remove some soil around the base until you uncover the root flare. Most likely at that point you'll also need to pull it out again and raise it up a little bit, but it's best to find the root flare first so you know how deep it needs to be. Then be REALLY careful on the watering. When you pull it up, I'd also look and see if there are any mushy rotten looking roots--if there are then trim them off before you replant.

Yep, I believe you're correct. It's still wet.

That is the top of roots in the pic. Maybe it was root bound?

The vast majority of the leaves are brown.

G'Day
I know nothing about Oaks but the spots on the leaves could be Rust (fungal). Do you know if Oaks suffer from Rust? If it is that then check with your Dept of Ag for control measures.
Brian

Your photo for comparison-

I pulled back a lot of the small interwoven roots at the top of the ball. I got to where I could find the flare but it got too dark to continue. The tiny roots are thickly matted over the flare. I hope I didn't damage it when I pulled them away.

Did you notice when you planted it if the roots were growing around in circles inside the pot? Was the pot a mass of roots?
Between this and the water I have to doubt it will survive.

IF it had been a healthy rootball, and if the roots had been loosened up when it was planted, and if it had been planted at the correct depth, and if it hadn't rained so much..... the tree could have gotten established and survived. But there were so many factors working against it I have to say I would wait until fall and try another tree.

Yes, there was a thick mass of roots.

All but a few of the leaves have turned brown and dry. Some leaves on the lower branches are still pale green. All of the limbs, twigs, and stems are green though. Maybe it will pull through.