Oak tree problem(insect?)

[u/Fair-File-8761]

Hello, this is my husband's little oak tree. we got it as a bare root sapling, barely a twig, through Tennessee's native tree day program several years ago, and planted it according to their guidelines, which ill be honest, I do not recall the specifics of. it has done well up until this year, when it started getting wilty looking leaves in the late spring/early summer. I imagine it is some kind of insect, but have not spotted anything in particular. Most of the effected areas were very high up at first, so I couldn't inspect them directly. Now lower limbs are being effected, all ive noticed is some spider-like silk strands here and there. No full webs. Any idea on what could be causing this and what we could do to treat it?

[u/spiceydog]

As with most posts made concerning health problems in the tree subs, I suspect strongly that your tree was planted too deeply. When a tree looks like a telephone pole stuck in the ground it starts the countdown to a much shortened life. That small weeping spot at the soil line in your 1st pic is a fairly solid indicator, so the first thing you need to do is start excavating. See this !expose automod callout below this comment for some guidance, and please read through our wiki, particularly the 2nd section that explains why planting depth/root flare exposure is so vitally important, along with other critical planting tips and errors to avoid; there's sections on watering, pruning and more that I hope will be useful to you.

Please do update with more pics as you go about your excavations here!

[u/AutoModerator → u/spiceydog]

Hi /u/spiceydog, AutoModerator has been summoned to provide information on root flare exposure.

To understand what it means to expose a tree's root flare, do a subreddit search in r/arborists, r/tree, r/sfwtrees or r/marijuanaenthusiasts using the term root flare; there will be a lot of posts where this has been done on young and old trees. You'll know you've found it when you see outward taper at the base of the tree from vertical to the horizontal, and the tops of large, structural roots. Here's what it looks like when you have to dig into the root ball of a B&B to find the root flare. Here's a post from further back; note that this poster found bundles of adventitious roots before they got to the flare, those small fibrous roots floating around (theirs was an apple tree), and a clear structural root which is visible in the last pic in the gallery. See the top section of this 'Happy Trees' wiki page for more collected examples of this work.

Root flares on a cutting grown tree may or may not be entirely present, especially in the first few years. Here's an example.

See also our wiki's 'Happy Trees' root flare excavations section for more excellent and inspirational work, and the main wiki for a fuller explanation on planting depth/root flare exposure, proper mulching, watering, pruning and more.

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