Recent rains may have come far too late for some trees

Hollywood Park resident Forrest W. Appleton is holding off until spring to see if a copse of live oak trees that turned brown and shed leaves will green up, especially with recent rains. He fears, however, they are lost.

Trees that were on the edge will definitely benefit from rainfall, says Mark Duff, forester and arborist with the Texas Forest Service, especially if tips are budding out and not just the lower branches.

But he emphasizes that even a tree that looks better now still might not make it. "It's sort of like when you cut a Christmas tree and put it into water, and it stays green for a while," he says. "In the end, it will probably be May before homeowners will know if their trees will survive."

Duff says Bexar County has lost 10,000 live oak trees this year. Many other trees are showing signs of extreme stress such as thinning canopies.

Appleton has already removed a Chinquapin oak, a vitex, a crape myrtle and a Japanese persimmon.

"They were all lost to the drought or to hypoxylon canker, which was drought-stress induced," he said. "I didn't water any of them until it was too late to do any good. I was one of those who had always thought that mature, well-established trees could make it on their own."

Bone-dry soil profoundly affects tree roots, especially the hair-fine roots that gather nutrients to feed the tree, says Mark Bird, interim city arborist. Without moisture, the roots cannot take up nutrients. In drought, trees tolerate some root loss, shedding leaves to stay alive.

However, dropping leaves and dead branches don't necessarily mean a tree will die. Shedding leaves helps the tree conserve moisture, and dead branches could be a sign of wind or insect damage.

Trees that received deep supplemental watering through the summer probably will survive, although homeowners' efforts often aren't adequate to maintain trees.