Common Tree Diseases In Boerne, TX

What better (or worse) disease to start with than the infamous oak wilt? This malady is known for its devastating potency, both in terms of prognosis and contagion. What does this mean?

If your oak tree is suffering from wilt, its chances are pretty slim. The longer this disease is allowed to flourish, the harder it is even for the best arborist to treat the tree – past a certain point, removing it is the only thing left to do.

In fact, tree removal is the go-to treatment for many arborists due to the aforementioned high risk of contagion. Oak trees are rarely isolated, and wilt can quickly spread from one tree to another and ruin many trees that were perfectly healthy before the contagion. In cases where recovery is dubious, arborists will tend to choose tree removal in order to minimize the chances of fungal growth spreading.

Non-removal options are limited and generally focus on applying a fungicide in order to try and subdue the infection in its early stages. Timely response is key, but since an oak tree suffering from wilt only has around six to twelve months before dying completely (by which point other trees around it will almost surely be infected as well), we are careful with optimism here.

So, how can you tell if your tree is suffering from wilt? Well, being a fungus that attacks a tree's water supply, veins on the leaves will tend to be a major tell – they will grow progressively darker, from a brighter yellow to a darker one all the way to dark brown. The discoloration will usually give you a good idea of how far the disease has progressed, although you'll need to work with a professional to know for sure. Our arborist will perform a close inspection, oftentimes followed by sending a tree sample to a laboratory for confirmation – while it might sound like a lengthy process, we always exercise swiftness when dealing with wilt to minimize its effect.

A tree can contract wilt in any number of ways and during various times of the year. If your oak tree is 'wilting', don't blame yourself – there is little you can do to prevent this infection, although it certainly falls on you to call us as soon as you notice something wrong.

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In theory, favoring red and live oaks over white ones could help prevent this disease or lower its occurrence, although property owners usually purchase or inherit the land with trees already fully grown, making infection wholly out of their control.

Another type of dangerous fungus perennially threatening your trees, conks operate notably differently yet are no less lethal for an individual tree. We say individual because while conks can reproduce rapidly on a single tree, the mechanism of infestation rarely ends up threatening other trees in the vicinity. Despite this, you can't afford to underestimate conks at any point of their tenure on your tree.

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Simply put, conks love vulnerability: they will latch onto any damaged part of your tree like holes, cuts, tears and so forth. This is one of the reasons why we urge property owners not to prune trees themselves: reckless pruning can cause the exact type of damage that conks love and can easily invite them over.

Fungal conks are even easier to notice than wilt – they're a very distinctive kind of growth that can resemble wild shrooms, usually having a much softer texture than any part of the tree sans leaves. Likewise, you should have no trouble knowing how far the infection has progressed as they tend to grow quick and big.

Like with wilt, your options of dealing with conks are limited, although the forecast is generally more optimistic. In cases where infection was allowed to progress too far, little can be done other than to cut the tree down. Things usually reach this point when tree owners aren't willing or able to perform regular inspections, so make sure to check your trees often for signs of this unwanted growth. In less severe cases, cutting off the affected parts of the tree should suffice – the closer the infection is to the trunk of the tree, the lower its chances of survival. Even if the conks are residing mostly on branches, you can't afford to have anyone other than certified professionals perform this delicate form of removal.

Fire blight isn't as common or as feared as the fungal infections mentioned above, but it's still a property owner's nightmare when it does occur. The reason for the relative scarcity of fire blight is that it prefers fruit-bearing trees, most often those with apples or pears – your trees not bearing fruit doesn't make them exempt from this disease, but you should probably worry about conks and wilt more.

Unlike wilt and conks, fire blight is caused by bacteria which attacks various portions of the tree and often gives them a charred appearance, hence the name. Aside from the impression of having been burned, soaked leaves are also a fire blight tell, as is bacterial ooze found on the leaves and fruit. Fruit on the tree will tend to be directly affected, usually shriveling progressively before finally assuming a dark, shrunken and lifeless appearance – the older the fruit is, the more prominent these symptoms will be.

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While highly damaging, fire blight can sometimes be subdued with greater success than fungal infections. Bactericide tends to work well here, and removing diseased branches will yield notable results and should be enough to save the tree in cases of early intervention. Of course, you will still need the help of your arborist to both diagnose and treat a fire blight-infected tree – too much bactericide applied inappropriately will cause more damage than good, as will the removal of branches by a non-professional.