"cledus" wrote in message
...
I have an oak tree in my front yard which I believe to be a live oak. I
constantly have "runners" emerge in the mulch that I have spread at the
base. Is there a safe way to suppress these? I have snipped them off but
they seem to always come back with a vengeance.

Other than the "cedar" (juniper ashe), the next prevailing tree in the hill
country is the live oak. Should be easy to coorelate. If you can ID it as
an oak right now, and the leaves are still green, its most likely a live
oak. The red oaks leaves are turning red/orange now.

Its unclear to me whether you mean "runners" in terms of roots. Or, shoots
from rhizomes.

Most of the live oaks on my place are in distress. They are sprouting
shoots from rhizomes en masse. Shoots are also sprouting from the primary
trunks as well, relatively low to the ground. Primarily, distress is due to
the formerly wet period in early spring going directly to a long drought.

This link may help you ID the tree, and, contact an arborist if needed.
http://forestry.about.com/library/tree/blliveo.htm
--
Dave

If it looks like fish, smells like fish, its not
a cantaloupe.