"Jangchub" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:44:00 -0500, "Dioclese" NONE wrote:

Just to make it a bit clearer, I live southwest of Austin, TX in hill
country proper. The predominant, native tree here that grows naturally is
the live oak.

Weather conditions for the past 3 years has been one year of severe
drought,
one year of more than ample rain rivaling rain normally seen in much
wetter
areas of the country, this year in extreme drought with almost a month of
100F temps so far. Unusual for even this part of the country that early
in
the year. The TV weatherman, says on a regular basis, the culprit is
"blocking high" preventing the normal influx of Gulf moisture from
intruding
and creating the typical cloudcover, and potential for rain. The
cloudcover
allows slightly less temps, and moisture from the Gulf does similar and
slowsdown dryout of native surface vegetation. East Texas isn't suffering
though as the high has been primarily too far west.

Similarly, I may call the live oak an "evergreen" myself as it only lacks
leaves for a week or 2 in early spring. Guess I could call it an almost
always evergreen. I know its not a genuine evergreen in the strictest
sense
as I'm sure my neighbor does as well.

All my live oaks are native, no home growns/transplants from pots.

Clarifying what I was asking originally, will there be any apparent,
visible
signs of drought stress on these live oaks? Insects and fungi aren't a
problem now due to lack of water. I'm concerned about my only water
source,
a water well. So, I've stopped watering the lawn. Typically, a summer in
this region is totally lacking in any appreciable rain, if any. So, thus
my
question.

It depends on many things.

Yeah, right. Check the cambial electrical resistance to find out the
vitality of the tree.

Hire someone one that understands trees.

I did the work at Tulane university in New O. I would have no trouble
finding a mean for a healthy live oak. What is your problem? Confused?

--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.