Dioclese wrote:
"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


It still has all of its leaves and they are green. So it is most likely
a live oak. I have a ring of mulch at the base of the tree. I have what
appears to be roots near the surface that run through the mulch. A foot
or so away from the trunk, leaves emerge from these "roots". Not being
an expert, I don't know if these are rhizomes or actual roots. I have
been snipping off the leaves for cosmetic reasons. But they always
reappear fairly quickly. Thank you for your response.