Heads up, I just found out how fast oak wilt can spread through root grafts

I was reading an ISA article last night and learned that oak wilt can jump through connected roots up to 50 feet from a sick tree. That shocked me because I always thought it was just beetles moving it around. Now I'm double checking my pruning schedules and making sure I seal wounds on red oaks in spring. Has anyone else lost a whole stand of oaks because they didn't know about the root graft thing?

2 comments

2 Comments

terry_barnes1d agoMost Upvoted

Man you are not kidding. I learned this the hard way back in 2018. Lost three beautiful red oaks in my backyard because the neighbor's tree down the street got sick and I never even thought to check for root grafts. By the time I noticed the wilt it had already spread to mine through the roots underground. Sealing wounds is huge but I also started trench cutting between my oaks just to break those root connections. Its a pain but cheaper than losing a whole grove. That 50 foot figure is scary accurate in my experience too.

the_jordan14h ago

Gotta disagree on trench cutting. I've seen that do more harm than good sometimes. Breaking those roots open creates fresh entry points for the fungus if you're not careful. I'd rather focus on proper wound sealing and keeping the trees healthy enough to fight it off themselves.

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