Can anyone tell me how much submersion a mature Oak might be able to take without undue side effects?
Basically I have an Oak that dips it's 'toes' into a stream.
This stream may soon have it's levels raised, and this will put about 1/2 of the base of the Oak (it comes out of the bank at an angle) in permanent submersion. How will the tree lilely to be affected.
Thanks in advance.

On 12/13/2008 6:20 AM, marksson wrote:
Can anyone tell me how much submersion a mature Oak might be able to
take without undue side effects?
Basically I have an Oak that dips it's 'toes' into a stream.
This stream may soon have it's levels raised, and this will put about
1/2 of the base of the Oak (it comes out of the bank at an angle) in
permanent submersion. How will the tree lilely to be affected.
Thanks in advance.


This depends on the species of oak. Western oaks (especially those from
California) will likely be killed by this. Some other oaks grow well
even in swamps.

Where are you? If this is a native (not planted) oak in California,
raising the stream level to the point of endangering the tree might be
illegal.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/

marksson wrote:
Can anyone tell me how much submersion a mature Oak might be able to
take without undue side effects?
Basically I have an Oak that dips it's 'toes' into a stream.
This stream may soon have it's levels raised, and this will put about
1/2 of the base of the Oak (it comes out of the bank at an angle) in
permanent submersion. How will the tree lilely to be affected.
Thanks in advance.




Water oaks and willow oaks can stand some submersion, but it is
periodic. The problem is water saturation of the soil, and denial of
oxygen, if enough roots are above the water should be well off, however,
the other side, the water saturated portion of the soil will not hold
the roots, nor the tree up, and it will fall.

In short, go ahead and plant a tree further back from the stream.

I think it will be very unhappy - it can take a fairly high water level, but not permanent waterlogging. It could, however, depend on where its roots go - if there are lots going into the bank above the likely water level, it might survive. I'd collect some acorns from it next Autumn and start again.

On Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:20:26 +0000, marksson
wrote:


Can anyone tell me how much submersion a mature Oak might be able to
take without undue side effects?
Basically I have an Oak that dips it's 'toes' into a stream.
This stream may soon have it's levels raised, and this will put about
1/2 of the base of the Oak (it comes out of the bank at an angle) in
permanent submersion. How will the tree lilely to be affected.
Thanks in advance.


You never know, time will tell. Drastic changes to environment will
undoubtedly put extra stress on a tree. An established tree can take
more of a beating. Also, there are various kinds of oak so it would
be helpful to identify the oak type (red, white, etc.)

On Dec 13, 12:02*pm, "D. Staples" wrote:
marksson wrote:
Can anyone tell me how much submersion a mature Oak might be able to
take without undue side effects?
Basically I have an Oak that dips it's 'toes' into a stream.
This stream may soon have it's levels raised, and this will put about
1/2 of the base of the Oak (it comes out of the bank at an angle) in
permanent submersion. How will the tree lilely to be affected.
Thanks in advance.

Water oaks and willow oaks can stand some submersion, but it is
periodic. *The problem is water saturation of the soil, and denial of
oxygen, if enough roots are above the water should be well off, however,
the other side, the water saturated portion of the soil will not hold
the roots, nor the tree up, and it will fall.

In short, go ahead and plant a tree further back from the stream.

Don
Good suggestion. here are some tips on planting.
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT20..._planting.html
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
www.treedictionary.com
and
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
Watch out for so-called tree experts who do not understand tree
biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, tornado’s, volcanic eruptions and
other abiotic forces keep reminding humans that they are not the
boss.