Ridglea Country Club Estates

Home Owners Association Official Website

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OAK WILT IN RCCE

Oak wilt is still very prevalent in our area and on the golf course. The most affected areas at this time appear to be in the Serrano Miramar circle loop and adjacent golf course property. It has also moved to Capra Way and Hollow Creek area. This spring and early summer the golf course removed four diseased trees on hole number 8 (Miramar) and five on hole number 5 (Serrano/Capra way); they also treated eleven trees in these sections.

Oak wilt is a fungus that clogs the water/nutrient conducting systems in many types of oaks. Red oaks are the most susceptible to this disease and spread it the fastest. Live oaks are at intermediate risk but tend to be highly affected because of their interconnected root systems. The disease moves at varying rates, but generally from 50 to 150 feet per year.

There are a number of ways to help stop the spread of this disease. Trenching is an effective means of dealing with oak wilt, but it is very expensive and impractical in an established subdivision such as ours.

Other solutions are as follows:

1. Remove diseased red oaks immediately after identification of the disease. Red oaks can develop a fungal mat and certain beetles carry the disease to other trees. This process does not occur in live oaks—the disease in live oaks is spread only through the root system.

2. Do not trim trees between February and June. The best time to trim trees is in mid-winter and late summer---all cuts should be painted to prevent beetle infestation.

3. Do not keep firewood from diseased trees that are removed.

4. Treat susceptible trees with a fungicide applied by a certified arborist before they get the disease. The fungicide will not save a red oak if it has wilt; it has a very good chance of stopping the disease in a live oak if caught early enough.

Identification of oak wilt should only be made by a certified arborist, but the symptoms in red oaks are easy to spot in late summer when the leaves start taking on what appears to be fall colors---this is called “flagging”. Symptoms are less pronounced in live oaks, but badly diseased live oaks will lose leaves and have discolored leaf veins—this is called “venial necrosis”. Live oaks, otherwise, just look weak with thin foliage.

Please consult with an arborist if you have any suspicion about oak wilt on your property. The attached news release from the Texas forest service spells out how important it is to remove diseased red oak trees.

This disease will not just go away! We must, as property owners and good neighbors, be proactive in dealing with it and do everything we reasonably can to halt it’s progress.

Healthy, mature trees add greatly to home values. It is up to us to protect them.

Please do your part now. It is spreading!

Thank you.

For further information, email jobechas@sbcglobal.net