Sudden Oak Death Information
Sudden Oak Death Info
In 1995, a new disease of tan oaks, black oaks and coast live oaks appeared in Mill Valley, Marin County, California. Hundreds of bay area oak trees appeared to be dying suddenly across the landscape, both in woodlands and in suburban properties around the San Francisco Bay Area, but most especially in cities in the Bay Area foothills, such as Palo Alto, Atherton, Menlo Park, Los Altos, Cupertino, Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Los Gatos.
The essentials about Sudden Oak Death Syndrome:
1. The SF Bay Area and the surrounding areas are at risk for Sudden Oak Death Syndrom.
2. Tan Oaks, black oaks, coast live oaks are all able to contract sudden oak death.
3. Sudden Oak Death Syndrome can be prevented according to the latest science.
Why is Sudden Oak Death Syndrome so sudden? Generally diseases slowly kill oak trees over a ten or fifteen year process. The oak tree disease, Sudden Oak Death Syndrome can kill an oak tree very quickly, even within a years time. Infections by Phytophthora ramorum (the pathogen which corelates to Sudden Oak Death) on oaks were originally called “Sudden Oak Death” because of the rapid (2 to 4 weeks) browning of leaves without an obvious prolonged period of visible decline.
Sudden Oak Death could be one of the most dangerous threats to California Coast Live Oaks, Black Oaks, and Tan Oaks in the history of the state of California. However, it can be put off and managed by regular chemical spraying treatment. We recommend regular bark applications for all of these three kinds of oaks. If the trees are treated with the appropriate chemical, they are very, very unlikely to be affected by Sudden Oak Death. It is possible to control the progress of Sudden Oak Death and perhaps to keep a tree from dying when it has been infected, but prevention is much more effective. If you have any of the above kinds of oak trees, call us to obtain regular spray service. Your trees can be saved!
Sudden Oak Death has been found killing oak trees widely in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties as well as in the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area.
