"cledus" wrote in message
...
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.

Rhizomes are starchy areas in a root which may sprout shoots. These shoots
usually are accompanied by leaves. Essentially, a branch growing from the
root in a manner of speaking. Sounds like your description as well. I
don't think the mulch has anything to do with the shoot's appearance.

Read here on purpose (reproduction) of rhizome shoots of the live oak:
http://elpaso.tamu.edu/research/Docs...live%20oak.pdf

If you damage the roots in desperation, you may be setting yourself up and
your neighbors for oak wilt.
http://www.volente.org/docs/oakwiltarticles.html
--
Dave

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