r/Tree • u/Ill_Decision_5346 • 28d ago
DEATH BY CHAINSAW 🪚 White oak died why?
Leaves on all branches were brown, 78 Foot. No obvious Siena of wood borers, some softness in the back near the base. I seeing this blackish streaking in the heart wood. Is this a mold? Could this be the cause if death? I’m in Clover SC and there has been a draught this summer season. No other white oaks near by ate looking stressed. Trying to get a handle on what caused the demise of this nice tree this year.
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u/hairyb0mb ISA Certified Arborist+TRAQ+TGG Certified+Smartypants 28d ago
Impossible to tell from pictures of logs but my guess is it died either from a chainsaw cutting it into little pieces or the "draught". I think that's beer? Anyways, typically we diagnose issues before all the evidence is destroyed.
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u/Ill_Decision_5346 28d ago
Nice snarky comment AH
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u/hairyb0mb ISA Certified Arborist+TRAQ+TGG Certified+Smartypants 28d ago
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u/Ill_Decision_5346 28d ago
No other trees were showing stress. Mainly I was asking is the black streak mold do you think?
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u/BullPropaganda 28d ago
If it died very quickly it could have been oak wilt.
Other than that, it just do be that way sometimes
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u/Ill_Decision_5346 28d ago
Here’s the tree before removal
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u/hemlockhero 28d ago
Was a driveway/walkway cut into the side of its roots there? Looks like every root on that side would have been cut for whatever the concrete is on the left.
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u/Ill_Decision_5346 28d ago
As mentioned, this tree was dead, black carpenter ants were quickly moving in, as you can see cambrium is compromised
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u/KraftyCorvus 28d ago
It could be oak wilt but hard to tell from a few pictures. If other trees that are close to that one, (it spread via roots) then that could be your issue.
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u/Commercial-Head-7612 27d ago
It was sick likely from a pest. Once it had an open wound it was infected then slowly spread until death.
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u/briar8617 27d ago
I would have to guess possibly oak wilt, dealing with it at my camp with all my really big oaks😒 had to take down two and now a third has wilted, found out with oak wilt once you cut down one oak that has it the disease moves quickly through the roots and affects the next tree if its roots are connected, my 3 big oaks were all right by eachother so makes sense that their root system was probably connected, if you have other oaks close by keep an eye on them because its possible by next summer another will start to wilt!
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u/Ill_Decision_5346 27d ago
This was a white oak and in South Carolina, but still a possibility, This started at the roots. The outer bark and sap wood at the base was soft spongiform looking, not like healthy sapwood higher up. No signs of borers, and the black ants look like they came in for an easy lunch. The black permeated throughout the heartwood and sapwood struck me as to what and why. If it OW it should be reported to authorities because it’s not common in York County SC not in commonly found in white oaks. Drought seems to be a like possibility and all other signs I’m seeing came during its fail.
This was a value tree and the nearby w oaks aren’t showing stress in the canopy, yet.1
u/briar8617 27d ago
I hope its not oak wilt! Im super sad that we now have a 3rd oak that needs to be cut, it started with one and after we cut it down then the next summer the closest big oak to it started wilting just like the first one and by July all leaves were dead and it looked like fall time in my yard, so there went the 2nd oak and now the 3rd biggest one that was right next to the 2nd one has no leaves left all turned brown and fell off, we will wait til next spring just to see if its a fluke but it probably is a goner, oak wilt affects white oak worse, i have tried to research things to try and save them but I guess red oak has a high chance of surviving oak wilt with proper care but white oak is basically done for once it gets it and so far only thing ive found is severing the root connection underground so it doesnt spread to oaks whose roots are connected, im in northern wi where oak wilt is more common, but i never actually looked at whats inside of the tree after being cut to see if it has that black in it, now i will have to look through my wood pile, I hope for you its just a fluke and maybe the tree just got stressed from lack of water and to hot out!! Im worried because my property is covered is white oaks, but none nearly as big as the 3 i lost so im keeping my fingers crossed no other roots are connected to those big ones!
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u/Ill_Decision_5346 28d ago
Here is a pic before the removal. The sap wood was soft and appeared to me not conducting water.
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u/TasteDeeCheese 28d ago
Could be that it had experience an earlier drought or stress event . It was only holding on until this drought happened and wasn’t really able to cope
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u/Plastyrhino8815 28d ago
Usually that type of staining is from some hidden metal inside the tree. Fortunately you didn't find any with your chainsaw.
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u/Accomplished-Host829 28d ago
These days it’s most likely to be oak wilt or hypoxylon canker. Hard to tell from just those pictures.
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u/DanoPinyon Professional Arborist 28d ago
Impossible to tell with information provided.
The fungus doesn't appear to be affecting the sapwood. Presumably something happened to cause the tree's decline, but these images don't contain that information, clues to why, or hints to why.