We recently moved into a brand new property in central mass. It has a
number of oaks on the lot and today I noticed the leaves on one of
them were brown. This tree is a pin oak (I think: 6 pointed leaves and
3 points on each) and is about 40 feet tall.

I picked up a leaf that had fallen and it had gone completely brown
from the tips to about a third of the way back where it was still
green.

I am a neophyte to trees and their diseases and the only thing I could
find on the web that matched my leaf was "oak wilt". However, a
distribution map did not show it to be present in MA.

By the way, and I realize this might be important, this tree has grown
on the lip of a natural depression. The builders in their wisdom have
filled this depression with excavated dirt. It is not piled against
the tree, but I guess it may be a sufficient change in the dynamics of
the root system to perhaps cause a problem.

I realize my next call should be to an aborist, however would be
interested in some feedback from experienced folks.

Thanks in advance,

Gary

According to http://www.suddenoakdeath.org, no.

"Sudden Oak Death is a forest disease caused by the fungus-like pathogen
Phytophthora ramorum. This pathogen has caused widespread dieback of
tanoak and several oak species in the central and northern coastal counties
of California, and has to date been associated with 26 different plant
species. While some of these species - coast live oak, black oak, Shreve oak
and tanoak - sustain lethal trunk infections, other plants get more benign
foliar and twig infections. Many of these species with foliar infections
play a key role in spread of P. ramorum by acting as a reservoir of
innoculum, which may then be spread aerially via wind blown rain. Sporangia
and chlamydospores, the most likely propagules of dispersion, are commonly
generated on foliage, whereas they have not as yet been found on infested
oak bark. The two plants determined to be the greatest sinks for innoculum
are California bay laurel/Oregon myrtle and Rhododendron spp. Mortality is
most common where oaks and these foliar hosts are found growing together."

Dave

"Gary M" wrote in message
om...
We recently moved into a brand new property in central mass. It has a
number of oaks on the lot and today I noticed the leaves on one of
them were brown. This tree is a pin oak (I think: 6 pointed leaves and
3 points on each) and is about 40 feet tall.

I picked up a leaf that had fallen and it had gone completely brown
from the tips to about a third of the way back where it was still
green.

I am a neophyte to trees and their diseases and the only thing I could
find on the web that matched my leaf was "oak wilt". However, a
distribution map did not show it to be present in MA.

By the way, and I realize this might be important, this tree has grown
on the lip of a natural depression. The builders in their wisdom have
filled this depression with excavated dirt. It is not piled against
the tree, but I guess it may be a sufficient change in the dynamics of
the root system to perhaps cause a problem.

I realize my next call should be to an aborist, however would be
interested in some feedback from experienced folks.

Thanks in advance,

Gary

"David J Bockman" wrote in news:Q0JPa.2670
:


According to http://www.suddenoakdeath.org, no.

Thanks David. My tree is exhibiting symptions that are very very
similar, i.e. it has a bleeding canker spot at the base of the tree and
leaves that are wilting from the canopy down. My local botanical gdns
has a 2 hour / week free advice session with a horticulturist, so I'll
check it with him. It's very sad to move into a property with
intentions of planting trees and end up having to take an old oak down.
A step in the wrong direction.

Gary