Trees are falling

[txm]

We are seeing something that I remember seeing during the mid 1950’s.

Large healthy looking trees are falling; the large support roots are dry and brittle.

The feeder roots are alive and the trees are green and healthy looking, but there is no support.

These are old trees, some up to fifty feet tall and they fall with no warning

There have been a few injuries in parks when these trees fall, but no deaths yet.

Thankfully it is not too common yet, but if we don’t get rain it will get worse.

We are now 36"behind for the last 18 mo.

[freedomrules3]

I've heard of that happening in wet soil before but never because its too dry . hope you get some rain soon. we are behind in rain this year but not 36 " . problem is when it rains i'll bet it rains a bunch .

[txm]

It is called dry root and they are as dry as old fire wood.
They fall without distrubing the soil much.
We dug two test post holes this week and at 28" it was bone dry.

[Rock Chuck]

36" behind in 18 mo? You're drowning. That's how much we get in 3 GOOD years. We apparently have smarter trees, though. They dig deeper and don't fall down.

Dick

[indianadan]

You said these trees were in parks? Do they water the areas these tree are growing?

Back at the old farmhouse where I grew up we had 6 (out of 28), 60 yo old Douglas Fir trees fall down during a severe windstorm. DOuglas fir trees aren't know for a very deep running root system, but the problem was aggrevated by the yard constantly being watered by my mother and the owners of the place before us. The roots only spread out and didn't go down searching for that water like Dick suggested above.

[Rock Chuck]

Evergreens can be helped by not watering right around the trunks. Only water the drip line and beyond. That will force the roots to grow out farther for more support. Also, a good layer of grass under them will help anchor them, but don't overwater it for the above reason.

[txm]

The trees that I have seen are native trees that usually have no problems with drought.
Pecans, Oaks, Ash and Cedar Elms are what I have seen so far.
I mentioned parks because that is where the injuries have happened, but the problem is not limited to park areas.
All of the trees are where supplemental watering can’t be done
In sandy soil areas the trees just die, the falling happens in tight soil conditions where the soil cracks allowing air to get around the roots.
This is the worst drought in fifty years and many types of plants are suffering.
If we don’t get some good rains soon the problem will get worse.
Most of us are under water use restrictions and we just can’t water enough to help much.
It will now take 12-15 inches of rain to break the drought.
We have had 28 days over 100 degrees and 1.3 inches of rain in the past 90 days.
Most of the state has had total crop loss, no hay, corn, milo, nothing
Farm and ranch damage in Texas is estimated at 10.5 billion$ so far.
.