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Aug

Have questions about scrub oak management on your property in Sedalia, call (719)400-9104 and we will be happy to answer any of your questions.

Scrub oak or gamble oak is a predominate plant species in Sedalia as well as South Denver metro area. Although it is often considered a maintenance free tree, you may have some questions about gambel oak care. Here are some common situations:

How Can I Tell if Scrub Oak on My Sedalia Land Needs Management?

Scrub oak management like pruning usually requires if there are sings of disease or insect infestation. If either the leaves or stems of the oak happen to have gall on them, then you’ll have to either prune the tree or remove the leaves as a whole. Gall is basically a round, swollen area of the tree. Most of them are caused by either small flies or wasps.
Also, if you see any fungus growing on the tree, chances are the fungus is deadly to the tree.
For instance, root rot, which is often caused by overwatering or broken sprinkler heads, can destroy the roots of scrub oak.
As for other signs, if anything on the tree looks dead, then it’s best to get rid of it so you won’t risk spreading diseases to other wildlife.

What Are Some Common Insects Found on Scrub Oak?

Besides small flies and wasps, cicadas, leafrollers, and cankerworms like to hang around on scrub oak.
Leafrollers and cankerworms are basically two types of foliage feeders that like to feast on scrub oak leaves. While this in itself doesn’t seem that dangerous, if there are too many of these creatures feasting on the leaves of the tree(s), then chances are the tree(s) can die.

Are Any of these Insects Dangerous?

For the most part, no. However, if there are too many of these types of insects living on the tree, then it would be harder for the tree to recover. This is especially true with the case of leafrollers and cankerworms.
In fact, if you want to control leafrollers and cankerworms, you can either apply dormant oil plus an insecticide onto the tree in early spring before leaves emerge or use bio
logical insecticides such as BT(Bacillus thuringiensis).

What Are Some Common Diseases that Occur on Scrub Oak?

Anything caused by abnormal rainfall or overwatering such as oak leaf blister, which as the name suggests, is a condition in which the oak leaves develop blisters that can damage the tree.
Scrub oak is a sturdy oak so it doesn’t need a lot of water, nutrients and care in order to survive. If left untouched, it tends to be thick unpassable fire hazard. That is why proper gambel oak care is so important.

To get more information on our scrub oak management services in Sedalia, call our office at (719)400-9104 or contact us by email. We also offer brush clearing services, fire mitigation, and forest thinning.