Elvis is Dead

In the words of the southern author and humorist Lewis Grizzard, “Elvis is dead and I don’t feel so good myself.”

Texas can be a tough place to survive and thrive for many reasons. Don Gardner mentioned to me that Texas is one of the few places in North America where plants and animals work to survive in a temperature range from 120 degrees (recorded in Monahans) to -2 degrees (recorded at Camp Mabry.)

Our trees are showing wear and tear from these tough conditions. Arborists are still working to get a handle on storm damage repair from the ice capades and freeze damage from the snowpocalypse. Drought and heat damage has also damaged and killed many of our trees.

In addition to these conditions, the insects that have survived are thriving. For example, last summer we suffered through one of the worst pecan aphid infestations of all time. Our crape myrtles were also hammered with wooly bark scale and aphids which resulted in a nasty sooty mold coating.

Unfortunately, oak wilt cases are increasing in Lost Creek, Northwest Hills, Tarrytown and many other Austin neighborhoods. If oak wilt has been diagnosed in your neighborhood or if you suspect oak wilt, contact me. I can help you manage this disease.

Even the cool wet spring this year has resulted in foliar fungal diseases of oak trees and photinas. I have observed fungal fruiting bodies of sap rot in the canopies of “zombie trees” and other wood decay fungi in the trunk and branches of a wide variety of tree species.

If you see conditions of concern in your trees, contact me. I am working with other industry experts to untangle the web of biotic and abiotic problems affecting our trees.