Oak Wilt! Burr Oaks and Alamo Injection? Urgent Help?

[Lisa]

I have Oak Wilt. Had 3 tree companies out. Plan is to trench, remove lost causes, and inject potential 'savables' with Alamo. Only Red oaks have succumed. The Burr oaks seem fine.

I was told:

1. Reds & Burrs don't root graft between the species. The only way the Burrs could get it is via beetles, etc.
2. 2 Companies say I don't have to inject the Burrs with Alamo. 1 Company wants to do it.
3. We are talking 3 Majestic-sized burrs & 1 smaller one. The cost is astronomical.

We are more than willing to sink alot of cash into saving our trees, but we are by no means wealthy and injecting the burrs. Estimated cost on the burrs alone is $1350.00. I just hate to toss away money needlessly and I don't know what to do here & who to listen to.

Because of the severe nature of Oak Wilt, I don't have much time to gather more estimates, opinions. I've tried searching the net & can't find specific advice on if I should inject the burrs or not. I'm going to call the Morton Arboretum Plant Clinic when they open for advice & also have an email to the U of I Plant Clinic.

If there are any knowledgeable tree people with Oak Wilt. I'd appreciate your advice on this matter. I have to make a quick decision here.

I posted this also on "forestry". Can anyone suggest a more appropriate Google group to post this to? Thank you! I'm freeking out.

[dicko]

I dont have any advice, but where do you live?

I assume its somewhere in Illinois if you're contacting the UofI. I didnt think Oak wilt was a big problem outside of California.

I just had a huge Oak die a few years ago. I went and counted tree rings on the stump and it was over 175 years old. At the time I thought it was oak wilt but it took several years to die. at the time I thought it just died of old age.

Come to think of it I see a lot of oak trees dead and dying in woodstock area...

So we have oak wilt, gypsy moths, asian longhorn beetles, ash borers, dutch elm disease, etc.. its a wonder that we have any forests left...

dickm

[David J Bockman]

Are you referring to Sudden Oak Death? If so, I wasn't aware that is has affected any trees outside of California and (possibly) Oregon.

[J. Lane]

[MLEBLANCA]

Dave (and others) I think that there are different diseases being confused here.

Sudden Oak Death is Phytophthora ramorum ( infecting tan oaks and black oaks in coastal Calif.) Oak Root Fungus is Armillaria mellea Oak Wilt is Ceratocystis fagacearum (mainly in the Middle west)

Emilie NorCal

[Babberney]

I hate to soundlike a doomsayer, but whoever is treating these trees should have made it plain there are no guarantees. Once a red oak show symptoms, it's unlikely to survive. Live oaks are more likely to benefit from treatment after the signs have appeared.

Trearting the adjacent trees is more likely to make a difference. If trees have been infected but haven't shown symptoms, you may avert disaster by treatment (but still no guarantee). For trees that are nearby but not infected, injections are preventative and, in that capacity, temporary. Retreatment is probably a good idea, but you might could get away with treating the trees that were closest to the worst case. This is assuming you remove any trees and branches that may die in a timely fashion. Once they're gone, the roots will harbor the pathogen for awhile, and that's why you should treat the adjacent trees (the disease spreads by root graft, if I haven't mentioned that). But how long it will be a threat there is debateable, AFAIK. I welcome any evidence to the contrary.

If you haven't looked at a third-party description of the problem, go to the Texas A&M link:

may also be able to find a similar link at a university or extension office web site closer to you geographically.

Good luck,

Keith For more info about the International Society of Arboriculture, please visit

consumer info about tree care, visit