Is any one out there currently treating any trees for...

Is any one out there currently treating any pf their trees for Oak Wilt Disease? If so, please share with me what you are doing. Do you feel your efforts have been successful? Have you taken any preventative measures in trees that are not infected? I need to know as much about this from personal experiences as is possible please.

In short:

Red oak types (section Lobatae) are highly susceptible to systemic infection and to transmission via root grafts.

Live oak types (section Quercus, series virentes), which you don't have in your region, also are highly susceptible to spread of infection via root grafts and clonal root systems.

Most other white oak types (section Quercus, or Lepidobalanus in older books) are susceptible to localized infection but resistant to systemic infection. This means you can successfully prune out the infection if you do it properly. It might even be self-limiting in many white oaks.

The disease is spread beyond the root graft zone by small beetles that feed on sap in sick trees and then move on to wounded (or recently pruned) trees. This type of spread is not a high risk as long as you don't prune or wound oaks during the growing season. (I believe it might also be spread by sapsuckers, but I know of no firm evidence of this.)

You can prevent infection in red oaks or live oaks with annual injections of Alamo or other recommended fungicides, at considerable cost. You might be able to interrupt root transmission in red oaks or live oaks with a timely and thorough trenching to severe all root connections between infected (whether already symptomatic or not) trees and healthy trees.

So, what oak species do you have, is oak wilt established there yet, and how much do you want to spend?

If you need more, D-mail me privately and I'll put you in contact with the people in the USFS who are studying this.

Guy S.

It's here. It's in the next county over from me. I was talking on the phone to a woody pathologist and he couldn't remember the name of the beetles but another member here knew the names. I know that squirrels are also a vector. They are rodents and they will die if they don't keep their teeth in check. I suspect birds will be found to be another vector.

As you know, I've got an oak/hickory savanna here. As you also know, I companion planted a considerable number of saplings next to my ash trees to get something going before EAB hit. As luck would have it, I chose some Swamp and Chestnut Oaks but I tossed in a few hundred Shumard, Pin, and BlackJack. Hindsight is always 20/20 given what I have been reading about Oak Wilt and how it is about 25 miles away from me.

I just talked to my husband about it. We're going to take a tape measure and mark Red Oak saplings as well as a few Mature Pin Oaks to have removed in an attempt to safeguard the other mature Red Oaks that are here. I can spot those a mile away in fall. There are several mature fruiting Red Oaks and I would spend quite a bit to protect them because I don't think Oak Wilt is as deadly as Dutch Elm Disease where in which one is only staving off the inevitable by treating an American Elm. We have no Oak trees that are symptomatic here but I'm not going to pretend Oak Wilt isn't real. I'm not worried about my best oaks because those are White Oaks and they are mammoths. I think they'll be ok.

By the way, I may tackle a few small ones myself but if we start getting into 40-50 footers and taller those are out of my league so don't freak out because I know it already.

Alamo is off patent now. There's a generic out there that is about a third the cost. Look up Quali-Pro Propiconizole 14.3. Off the top of your head, what do you think the labor will cost per tree as I may ultimately want to inject about 5 of my most prized specimens BEFORE Oak Wilt hits here in the next few years.

Tell me more about trenching. Sounds like a good prophylactic.

This darn Oak Wilt snuck up on me gosh darn it. I've been too busy watering trees, locating and burning those darn telial horns (black knot wasn't a problem this year), scraping off gypsy moth egg cases, monitoring the Gypsy Moth traps, and "companion" planting natives right next to all the Fraxinus ssp here that I hadn't been paying attention to what was going on with Oak Wilt. That will teach me for focusing on EAB.

One good thing, I saved all of my Timburr Strain Chesnuts. Every last one of them made it through the drought. The Tulip and Northern Pecans made it too. Come to think of it, a few Shagbarks made it also.

Relax a little bit. Oak wilt is a native pathogen and has been in northern Illinois for many decades. It is fairly ineffective at spreading from miles away via the beetles or other vectors, but highly efficient at exploiting root grafts once it gets within 100-200 feet of your trees.

Trenching before you even see it might just stress your trees (and your wallet) and make them more vulnerable to other problems. Besides, the roots will reconnect unless you install barriers. It might be premature to start thinning too, or treating with fungicide. I would just monitor things for a while and don't panic unless you see symptomatic trees next door. Even then, be sure it's oak wilt and not some look-alike such as Xylella scorch. It's tough to tell them apart without a culture, especially if you have the highly scorch-susceptible shingle oak.

Guy S.

Yes, we found out about driving sheet piling. Oh what fun.

RELAX, absolutely because I will have you come to my house and inspect my oaks and then you can just tell me what to do and I will do whatever you say. Yes, you are 100% correct, I can definitely relax OakMan and I'm not thinking about this anymore because it gave me a headache.

We are still going to go out and move a few saplings before they get really established. There are about 10 that should be moved. I will have 3 moved next weekend. Might as well take a little bit of an offensive posture.

If anything happened to my oaks I would be hotter than a wet hornet.

I have a feeling oak wilt is too afraid of you to dare invade your yard! But I'd love to see your place sometime when I'm up in your area.
Guy S.

Come on over this February or anytime you are speaking at ChiBo or The NG. Spend the night. We'll even tell the kids to be shush so you can sleep and we'll clear your room of cats so you can do so alone with no feet walking over the top of you or cats snuggling in on top of your face- they like new people.

OK, but we have four cats on our bed every night so I'm pretty used to that. Thanks for the invite! Someday maybe we'll get you to take a day off and come down here too. It's only four hours (for me -- even less for you if you use a Fuzz-Buster). You can get a preview on our web site: www.StarhillForest.com.
Guy S.

"OK, but we have four cats on our bed every night so I'm pretty used to that."
Better yet, I don't have to do anything then as I'm sure you are accustomed to the occassional nice warm mushy hairball. Just kidding, we'll make sure barf boy doesn't get in there but the others, all 7 of them, can lounge around in your bed and jockey for position on your head. You'll feel right at home I guess. Did I mention we have 2 cats over 20lbs? we call them the Beasty Boys.

As far as coming down by you... yup! That's on the list of things to do. I want to see your trees all leafed out and I am particularly interested in the Cannonball by your house. The kids go camping a lot with Scouts during the summer and hubby takes them so that means I am not needed here to cook or to shuttle them here and there. It's nice when they are all gone and all I'd have to do is board the three dogs as cats do quite fine for a day or so. I'd probably leave on a Saturday night so I could have a Sunday to poke around over there and drive back Sunday evening. I don't use a fuzz buster. I take the speed limit and add about 11-12 and that seems to keep me right under the threshhold for getting nailed. I will go up to 20 over if there are a few cars passing me up and driving for daylight. Seems as if they always get it and never me when I lag back behind those type of drivers.

I'll plug your home address in my google thingie and see how many miles. Bet it's about 200+.

Hey! I haven't poked around in your website for a while. I need to go do that right now.

Oh MY GOODNESS!

Why Guy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The book you wrote on North American Native Trees was the Winner of National Arbor Day Foundation 2005 Media Award!

CONGRATULATIONS OAKMAN! YOU DONE GOOD!

Now it's back to your website to poke around some more!