All About Monterrey Oaks

Monterrey oaks (also known as Mexican white oak) started getting popular as a planting choice about 10 years ago. There are a few scattered specimens around town that are older than this, but not many. So far, this tree is proving to be a hardy tree to the area and it is oak wilt resistant. I expect to see more and more of the Monterrey oak as the years go by. But, for now, the jury is still out on this tree in my opinion. We’ll need to see a number of these trees live into maturity before I give them a full-blown thumbs up. I’ve run across a few mature specimens and they all seem to be very free of problems. I’ve began recommending this tree regularly.
rendering of monterrey oak

Continue reading All About Monterrey Oaks

Treatment and Control Options for Oak Wilt

Oak wilt is a devastating tree disease and very expensive to combat. There has not been any real improvement in the treatment and control options since the first product was released on the market back in the mid 90’s. For chemical treatment you have two injection techniques for administering the fungicide and for large scale control measures, trenching is the best option. The Texas Forest Service (TFS) publishes a brochure for managing oak wilt.

Continue reading Treatment and Control Options for Oak Wilt

The History of Oak Wilt

This article is mostly a summary of a report published by Jennifer Juzwik, Thomas C. Harrington, William L MacDonald and David N Appel titled “The Origin of Ceratocystis fagacearum, the Oak Wilt Fungus.” David Appel is the head of Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station. He is considered by many as the go-to for oak wilt in the state of Texas. And, there is strong argument that central Texas is the oak wilt capital of the world. The epidemic is at it’s worst here in our own back yard. You can see the document in its entirety here. Let’s get started…
Continue reading The History of Oak Wilt

Ideal Time to Prune Trees & the Oak Wilt Pruning Season

Today a customer asked me this question, “We will want the trimming done, but don’t have a date yet. It depends on the progress with the construction. What are the ideal dates for trimming?”

What are the ideal dates for trimming?”

Continue reading Ideal Time to Prune Trees & the Oak Wilt Pruning Season