Tree Smith, LLC

Live oaks all over Texas look like this in the wake of the extreme cold temps during the winter storm. Expect the leaves to drop quickly this month, and hope that new ones show up. Some experts such as Neil Sperry say they’ll be fine, which is true IF the tissue damage is only in the leaves and twigs. But other DFW tree experts recall huge losses in 1983 when December temps hovered around 5 degrees for a spell, and freeze damage affected not only leaves and twigs, but the TRUNKS of the trees. We cannot detect trunk damage until the bark begins to separate from the tree in the summer. We are monitoring the situation, will know a lot more in a month or so, and meanwhile there’s not a lot you can do. What you CAN do is beware of any tree companies trying to sell you a fix this soon, or proclaiming it dead and trying to sell you a removal this soon. In most cases, it’s still too early to tell the best course of action. We do expect heavy losses in North Central Texas, but wait it out for now.

This week at a workshop at A&M learning more about the laboratory side of tree disease diagnostics.

PSA from The Tree Smith: I'm getting lot of calls about trees dropping leaves and/or turning brown. This Spring, our soils stayed saturated for an extended period. As tree roots
need oxygen, this extended soil saturation caused some trees to sustain root dieback. Now, with soils dry again and the Summer heat on, the reduced root masses cannot keep up with the increased transpirational rate. This causes the tree to suffer a drought-like situation. Some die, some survive. Solution: Run your hose on your trees, giving each a good deep soak about once per week throughout the rest of Summer. And if you suspect any of your trees are in critical condition, reach out for a consultation from me if you're in North Central Texas. Thanks!

Denton folks, meet "Stumpy," my stump grinder. Stumpy is raring and chomping at the bit to sink his brand new carbide teeth into a nice ripe tree stump! I'll be grinding a few stumps in Denton with this bad boy this afternoon. If YOU have a stump that needs removing too, around the Denton area today, msg me and Stumpy and I will price it right!

Mistletoe removal and dormant oil spraying... it's the time of year to do both right now! Holler, North Texans if you want to get on my list!