Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Thursday - February 17, 2005

From: Dallas, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Potential danger of oak wilt in live oaks in Dallas, TX
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Do you have or know of any recent publications that discuss a potential oak wilt problem in live oaks in the Dallas area? We strongly believe that live oaks have a great landscape value and are trying to confirm that the risk of oak wilt in newly planted trees is rather low or relatively easy to take care of.

ANSWER:

The Oak Wilt Information Partnership is a collaboration between the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the Texas Forest Service and the Central Southwest/Gulf Coast Information Node of the National Biological Information Infrastructure. The Partnership tracks and provides information about oak wilt in Texas. Their web page provides a wealth of information on occurrence, treatment, and prevention of oak wilt. The Texas Forest Service notes that recent transplants of live oaks do not quickly establish root connections with the residual root systems of diseased trees, but there is still that risk. If you were thinking of using liveoaks in your landscaping project, the Texas Forest Service offers suggestions for substitutes that are resistant to oak wilt. Two of the substitute oaks on the recommended species list for North Central Texas are: 1) Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), and 2) Chinkapin oak (Q. muhlenbergii).

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Thursday - February 17, 2005

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