Dying Trees?

[VirginiaAgent]

I recently had a portion of my property logged. I selected several of the larger hardwoods to remain, and they were left untouched. Now, after only a couple of weeks since the loggers left, some of the the trees leaves are turning brown (One completely brown).

I have looked at them and the root system appears undamaged. Could it be that they are now exposed to more light than before, and that browned the leaves? I find it hard to believe that the trees died in a matter of two weeks.

If they are dying I need to take them down now, before my fence goes up. So what do you guys think, will the trees be ok???

VA

 

[ONJ]

Do the trees have any scar marks on them? where they were hit with equipment or other logs? also could be a soil compaction problem where equipment has run over the roots a few times.... from what I have noticed most trees dont usually do to well after being taken from a forest setting into a shade tree setting

 

[Treemonkey1000]

I would think if you have a Farm Bureau out there they could send some one to give you a good idea. I am not an arborist which is what you need. There are some tree's that just don't like to have their root system driven over. Did the loggers pull out stumps when they did their work? They may have changed the water table a bit. It is getting close to Fall so the tree's are starting to go dormant anyhow. Although not that fast typically.
If you are going to build near them you might consider removing them prior to building just for ease of dropping them. Are they going to be shade tree's?
My advice would be to call and talk to an arborist. Tell them what type of tree. And what your long term plan is with these tree's. They could then give you better advice. There are some guys on this forum that might just fit that description.

 

[Oldchuck]

You don't say where you are or what kind of trees but I would first off consider root compaction. Bumper trees usually only get scared up on one side and manage to survive although they are ruined for lumber. I wouldn't be in a big hurry to take them down. They could easily lose their leaves now and come back again next spring.

Get a professional opinion.

 

[MikeInEburg]

Are they walnut? Ours turn brown this time every year...
Mike

 

[jinman]

Has it been dry lately? If the surrounding trees were removed, it allows sunlight to dry out the ground or certainly raise its temperature a few degrees hotter than before. Compaction and drying of the ground are probably two of the primary culprits. If you want the trees, I'd sure give them a chance to recover. If you build a fence, will it be very close to the trees? The type of fence and how much you disturb the ground could cause additional shock. Depending on the type of tree, there may be several things you can do to improve their long-term health. An arborist may be money well spent, but I'd try to find one who doesn't do a lot of cutting.

 

[roadhawk]

If they're not dying they will certainly be under stress for any or all of the reasons already given. Give them some TLC now. Use fertilizer under the drip lines and even drill holes into the dirt under the drip-line to help it get in there. Less more often is better than more less often. Water like it's a new tree which in a way it is now.

Yes, the extra sun they're getting could cause more stress and turn leaves brown. Just think about when you go get a tomato plant from say Wally World. You have to let it acclimate to your yard and sun conditions or you risk stunted growth and/or death. I typically plant my transplants under a teepee of green branches and as the branches die the transplants get more and more sun. You can't do that with a tree, but you can give them plenty of water so they don't dry out and "wilt".

This is what I would do this time but I can't test it. When I was cleared, several years later my big oaks all rotted from the inside and died, over a period of a couple of years. I didn't do any of the above but feel like it might have made the difference. The comments about calling a pro is probably an even better choice though. My trees will never be that size again in my lifetime.

 

[randy41]

call your local state forestry guy to come out and take a look. it looks like you live in VA. Heres a link that might help you.
Office Directory | Virginia Department of Forestry |

 

[KeithInSpace]

Any chance of compacted roots? What type of equipment was used to remove the other trees and did they get under the dripline of the trees you saved?

I saw a guy grade his front yard and spread some topsoil, all with a tracked skid-steer, I believe...never saw any other equipment out there. He did it in the fall. The next spring, every single one of the White Oak trees he had saved were dead as a doorknob. Everything about the work seemed OK by me, and it didn't appear that he filled significantly near the trees. Nevertheless, they croaked.

The only thing I could figure was him working all over the tree roots with equipment. Killed them dead.

Sorry to hear...I hope they're OK. Love trees.

 

[wupham]

As mentioned before, compaction can cause some real problems. However, the tree may not be dead. Usually it takes some time for compaction problems to show up.

Check to see if the twigs are still alive by sharply bending twigs to see if they are brittle or not. Brittle twigs mean that part of the branch is dead. Also check to see if the buds are still alive. Dead buds will break off. A third check is to scrape the bark off of small twigs to be sure the cambium layer just under the bark is still green.

If all three tests come back positive, the trees are still alive.