Oak wilt is a deadly fungal disease that threatens our oak trees, and it’s quickly spreading throughout San Antonio and Texas.
The fungus invades an oak tree’s roots, choking off its water. It’s spread by sap beetles, untreated firewood cut from an infected tree, and contaminated tree-trimming equipment — which should have been disinfected after trimming a tree with oak wilt, but wasn’t.
The fungus has reached Whispering Oaks, a neighborhood in District 9, which I represent on City Council. According to Mark Duff, an oak-wilt expert with the Texas A&M Forest Service, the fungus has already hit eight areas in Bexar County.
To see the impact oak wilt has on a neighborhood, just drive through a particular corner of the City of Hollywood Park. You’ll see entire blocks of houses with dried-up, gray oak trees in their front yards.
Where the oaks with green leaves start up again, that’s oak wilt’s line of demarcation. Those healthy trees are next. The fungus acts fast, and can kill an oak tree in a matter of weeks.
Hollywood Park is one of many communities impacted by oak wilt in Central and South Texas. It has been spreading south toward San Antonio for years, and now it’s here.
Imagine your yard with trees killed by this fungus. What does that do to your pride in your property? What does that do to your property value?
I’ve heard one estimate that a mature oak tree adds roughly $25,000 to a property’s value.
Last week, City Council received its first briefing on oak wilt. I requested the session to highlight a problem that threatens oak trees across San Antonio — to create an appropriate sense of urgency.
The City of San Antonio must develop an aggressive and effective strategy to slow oak wilt’s progress. At the moment, we don’t have such a plan.
We also have to be realistic — treatment of this disease is hit-and-miss, and prevention is difficult. But we must make the effort.
I believe the City’s should immediately take the following steps:
- Discontinue City brush collection from Feb. 1 through July 1 in neighborhoods affected by oak wilt. Springtime is the period when fungal mats are most likely to form on oaks and sap beetles are most active. Experts agree: avoid tree trimming in that time period.
- Study other cities’ responses to oak-wilt infestation. In Texas, these include Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Lubbock, and Midland.
- Initiate a strong public-awareness campaign on the dangers of oak wilt and treatment methods. This information, for example, could be included in monthly CPS Energy and SAWS bills.
- Work closely with the Texas A&M Forest Service, and partner with Bexar County.
Oak wilt poses a huge threat to San Antonio’s tree canopy. Currently, we’re not sufficiently prepared to meet it.
*Top Image: An oak tree that has been infected stands alone near healthy trees. Photo by Scott Ball.
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Credit where it’s due, I’m not usually a fan of Councilman Krier, but he tried hard at the B-session to raise the issue.
I only wish other Council members were less interested in texting like middle school girls during the entire briefing and more interested in issues that affect the community (Councilwoman Gonzales). Or gave the same level of scrutiny to all “items that aren’t in the City Charter” (Councilman Saldana). Kudos to you Councilman Gallagher, for paying attention and asking questions.
The Texas A&M Staff Forester, replete in his dusty on-the-job forest ranger-style khakis, estimated the value of the oak trees in greater San Antonio in the BILLIONS of dollars. With a B! Did that get the Council’s attention? Not really.
If you have a Live Oak or a Red Oak, and some of your neighbors’ trees are looking sickly, you need to be concerned. Oak Wilt can kill your tree in a matter of weeks. Kill. Weeks. Not “stunt” or “harm” or “affect”. Kill. Not slowly, not next year, not after you sell your house and move out. Weeks.
It’s on my street. I’m concerned. I can’t stop my neighbors from pruning. I can’t paint their pruning cuts. I can’t cut down their dead Red Oaks with fungal mats that propagate the fungus to other trees. I can’t stop the fly-by-night contractors with their 2 hours of city training from doing a poor job and offering specials during the time of year when it’s the worst to trim trees, but the City subsidizes them with brush pick up.
I’m lucky enough to have 13 oaks in my yard (it’s a great yard, my dog loves it!). It’s a couple hundred bucks to treat each tree to prevent Oak Wilt. They need treated every 2-3 years. I’ll bite the bullet and pay the money and do my part.
I hope you’ll do yours. E-mail your council member. Look at Hollywood Park’s website for info (they’re proactive with good info, CoSA? They’ve got dead links.)
Oh, and in addition to not pruning your trees in the spring/early summer; or doing it carefully and painting the wounds, don’t use Scott’s Bonus S Weed & Feed products under the oaks. It has the herbicide atrazine, this is what the official Scott’s web site says:
“Bonus S Southern Weed & Feed is a combination of lawn food and a weed killer called atrazine. Atrazine is a selective herbicide that interferes with energy production in plants. Because it is mostly absorbed by the roots, it can harm trees and shrubs. We recommend that you avoid applying this product under the dripline of trees or shrubs. You should also keep it two feet away from ornamental plantings and mulched beds.”
So in the next few weeks, when the weeds are thriving and you want to green up the lawn, it’s the WORST time to apply weed and feed under the oaks since they’re taking up nutrients (or herbicide, if that’s what’s there). Atrazine damage can look like Oak Wilt, so it’s important to know what’s being put onto your lawn.
Put away the pruning saws until July/August. Maybe a little fertilizer only; weed by hand or just mow them down. Your trees will thank you; and I will too!