mature pin oak has not yet grown any new leaves this spring -- should I be worried?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give it time. Someone else mentioned mid-May.

Here is a fact sheet supporting that: https://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_qupa2.pdf

Thank you. This is helpful. I will wait and keep my fingers crossed.

OP here. Still no sign of new growth. Moreover, the tree hasn't dropped most of its dead leaves from last year. Is that a bad sign? That is, is it normal for a pin oak to stubbornly hang onto its leaves from last season? Shouldn't the old leaves have dropped by now, to make way for new growth?

[Anonymous]

Yes, pin oak does tend to hold it leaves and the new buds push them out. It is called marcescence.

If a tree loses its leaves too early, it is a bad sign. We had a maple that turned fall colors in August and dropped all leaves by September. That tree died.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, pin oak does tend to hold it leaves and the new buds push them out. It is called marcescence.

If a tree loses its leaves too early, it is a bad sign. We had a maple that turned fall colors in August and dropped all leaves by September. That tree died.

Yes, but this situation is the polar opposite -- the tree still has it dead leaves from last year.

My understanding is that a pin oak retains its leaves through the winter months, and then drops them when spring arrives. At this point, spring is well underway, but the tree is still clinging to its old, dried-up leaves, and not a single new leaf has emerged.

[Anonymous]

Scratch the bark (even on a twig) and if it is green underneath the tree is still alive. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scratch the bark (even on a twig) and if it is green underneath the tree is still alive. Good luck!

I decided to cut the tree down. There are no signs of life. It is a shame. It is (was) the most prominent tree on the street. It provided a lot of shape children playing in the summertime. It will be missed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Scratch the bark (even on a twig) and if it is green underneath the tree is still alive. Good luck!

I decided to cut the tree down. There are no signs of life. It is a shame. It is (was) the most prominent tree on the street. It provided a lot of shape children playing in the summertime. It will be missed.

Whoops -- I meant a lot of "shade for children playing"

[Anonymous]

Cutting it down is going to cost $$$$s. Why don't you have an arborist take a look at it and confirm it's dead for a fraction of what it will cost to cut it down. Or wait until mid-May before you give up on it. It does seem late at this point, but it's been a horrible year with unusual amounts of rain and a cold winter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Scratch the bark (even on a twig) and if it is green underneath the tree is still alive. Good luck!

I decided to cut the tree down. There are no signs of life. It is a shame. It is (was) the most prominent tree on the street. It provided a lot of shape children playing in the summertime. It will be missed.

It's really unlikely that it was healthy when you moved in last fall and now it's completely dead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Scratch the bark (even on a twig) and if it is green underneath the tree is still alive. Good luck!

I decided to cut the tree down. There are no signs of life. It is a shame. It is (was) the most prominent tree on the street. It provided a lot of shape children playing in the summertime. It will be missed.

It's really unlikely that it was healthy when you moved in last fall and now it's completely dead.

Agree. Trees rarely die in one year. It is often a 5-year process unless it catches on fire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Scratch the bark (even on a twig) and if it is green underneath the tree is still alive. Good luck!

I decided to cut the tree down. There are no signs of life. It is a shame. It is (was) the most prominent tree on the street. It provided a lot of shape children playing in the summertime. It will be missed.

It's really unlikely that it was healthy when you moved in last fall and now it's completely dead.

Agree. Trees rarely die in one year. It is often a 5-year process unless it catches on fire.

It can happen. I lived in a neighborhood in NoVa with lots of large oak trees, and there were many trees that declined over years, but there were also some that just appeared to go from healthy to dead in one year. They probably were declining before, but it wasn't apparent. Oak trees don't live forever, and many neighborhoods in the close-in burbs are hitting the age where the trees have just hit the end of their natural life expectancy. We lost three huge oaks on a relatively small lot in the matter of 3 years. If you want to plant a new tree, I'd encourage you to buy the biggest tree you can afford. Once trees get to a certain size, they can grow amazingly fast.

[Anonymous]

Hi! Whatever happened to your pin oak? Did you have it cut down? I’m having the same issue. I’m holding out hope it will leaf out. I’m in North Carolina though.