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| Mesquite tree with sap running down from a pruning cut |
Q. This is about mesquite trees of which I have two in my front yard. Last fall I had both trees trimmed quite drastically by a recommended tree service. They are coming back very nicely except one limb is dripping what I thought was oil; a dark stain looking like oil or tar.
At first, I thought the gardeners had dripped oil over the rocks and over my lantern with their equipment. Then I looked up! I don’t know what to do about this; I clean up the area as best I can and within a week, it looks like it had never been cleaned. Is this something I should worry about, or should I just keep on cleaning? Only one limb on one tree is doing this.
A. Mesquite trees can bleed quite profusely when they have been cut. This is nothing to worry about and it should stop by now.
Out of curiosity you might just take your finger to this sap and smell it. If it has a strong yeasty smell and it attracts flies it’s possible it could be a relatively minor disease problem called Wetwood or slime flux. I just mention this because it is more of a curiosity than anything else.
There is really not much you can do about this disease and it should not have any long-lasting effects on the health of the plant. This is not true of this disease and a couple of others but mesquite it should be no problem. It is going to be unsightly.
If the liquid persists, it is possible to drill a hole at the bottom of where it is leaking and tap in a 2 or 3 inch tube into the hole so that the liquid runs down and out the tube, not down the side of the tree. Make sure all is sterile when puncturing or putting a hole or cut into plants.
I have a mesquite over a brick area and it drips sap on them. What can I do to protect the brick? Is there a chemical that can be applied to the brick to clean it of sap drippings?
Please help, my huge old mesquite tree had some black sap leaking and a local tree expert put tar on the wound to close it off. Now my tree 3 years later, is dying I think. Red bark, powdery, leaves on some branches dying. What can I do?
The black tar you mention is no longer recommended for sealing off tree wounds. However, I can understand why someone in the business might do it because they want to make you feel better about your tree. It's kind of like a placebo. The black Siegler doesn't hurt anything. The research that has been done says it's mostly cosmetic. Check your watering and soil drainage. If the soil is in training and there is too much water applied it's possible the roots are suffocating. If roots are suffocating you might see large branches begin to die until you can correct the drainage problem. One way to correct it is called vertical mulching. This augurs holes in the soil vertically that are several inches in diameter and down to a depth of about two or 3 feet. This helps water to drain from the roots and allows air to get down there as well.
Nothing specific. when we see sap coming out it is usually either some sort of stress or poossibly insect.There is a mesquite borer in Arizona and Texas but I have not seen it in Nevada. You should see fairly large holes, exit holes either in dead parts of the tree limbs or trunk or below some sap that is oozing. There is one insecticide you can apply to the soil around the tree which will be taken up by plant roots and kill this insect and give several months of protection. You should be able to find it in a nursery or garden center. We carry it at Viragrow in concentrated form for professionals.
Otherwise there are a couple of limb and trunk diseases but you should see mushrooms (bracket fungi) on the sides of dead or dying limbs or the trunk. Usually sap is a sign of stress.If the roots are being flooded and they can't "breathe" you might see sap. In cases like this you might try a technique called vertical mulching which augers large holes vertically in the soil within a few feet of the tree and provides some drainage of soil water. This will alleviate the flooded soil problem and allow the rotos to "breathe". A certified arborist should be able to do that for you.
I live in an area that gets a super rainy season, mesquite trees are native here and this tree is probably 100 years or more old. The bark is coming off, it looks like infestation of pests, leaves turning yellow. Do you have any other ideas?
Thank you so much. I believe I have termites, I see them and the powder they are leaving. Do you have any ideas?
If you have further concerns why dont you contact me privately at [email protected]
We have a very large mesquite in our back yard in Coachella Valley. Some of the branches have begun to turn a greyish color. What would cause that and should I be concerned?
I'm sorry this took so long to reply to you. Do you see any other problems with your mesquite tree or suggest a change in the color of the bark? If you do not see any other problems and it appears healthy, I would not worry about it. Mesquite trees do not like to be watered frequently. There are two ways to overwater trees. One is to give them too much water in one application. This is not a problem for most trees. The second way can create problems. This is by watering too frequently. You want to avoid this whenever possible particularly with desert plants like mesquite. Mesquite trees will tell you if they are receiving too much water. Watering daily could cause the tree to begin dying. When receiving too much water in a single application their new growth can be six or 8 feet in length. This is a clear indication that too much water is being applied and it is applied too often. When mesquite trees are not receiving enough water they first begin to fold their leaves. Next, they begin to drop their leaves if this drought continues. If the drought continues even more than the branches begin to die back. Look at your tree and see how much new growth it had last year. This is a good indicator of your watering habit with this tree.
If you do not see any other problems to the tree except for this grayish color, then ignore it.
Interesting discussion. I think that you should write more on this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people are not enough to speak on such topics. Cheers
I have a 30 ft Chilean Mesquite that looks nice and healthy but it ha a 2 feet long dry black streak on its trunk what is it?
I will send you a picture but this is common on mesquite. Particularly if it has been pruned in the past. If there the tree looks healthy there is nothing to worry about.
actually the picture I was going to send is in the blog.
Please be careful watering mesquite. It prefers to be watered deep and not all that often. In the Mojave Desert i would water to a depth of about 2 to 3 feet (use a 4 ft long piece of rebar to judge irrigation depth)
Thank you for your comment It helps because I have a man down my street who is always telling me to have my tree removed saying that he is a danger to my house. I do not think he is honest because he first offered to cut it down for a steep price and when I looked horrified he said that he would trim it for me for a lot of money. For now I think I just leave my tree as is.
Keep delivered water at least three feet from anything you dont want tree roots heaving up. Roots follow water. if you apply water away from a wall or a house, the roots will grow in that direction.
I have a 30 ft Chilean Mesquite that looks nice and healthy but it ha a 2 feet long dry black streak on its trunk what is it?
Please help! I have three established mesquite trees and the leaves are yellow. We broke a twig and it’s tan inside and it didn’t break easily. We’re so concerned that they’re dead. Please advise
Make sure Mesquite trees are not watered often. You will kill them if you are watering them daily. You will also kill them if you keep the soil where the roots are growing too wet. Keep water away from the trunk of the tree. If it's young, construct a basin around the tree or donut about 4 inches tall and fill it with water once a week. If it's a larger tree, apply enough water to the soil beneath its canopy to wet the soil and the roots down to 18 – 24 inches deep. The biggest failure in growing Mesquite trees is irrigating them too often and not applying enough water when you do irrigate to wet the soil's to 18 – 24 inches deep. If you have to, make a basin and fill it with a hose once a week right now. This winter you will fill the basin once a month or at the most once every two weeks
Please help! We have three established Mesquite trees in our rental front yard. The leaves have turned yellow. We tested a twig from one of the trees and it was tan inside and it didn’t break easily. We’re at a loss, please advise. Thank you
Please help! I have three established mesquite trees and the leaves are yellow. We broke a twig and it’s tan inside and it didn’t break easily. We’re so concerned that they’re dead. Please advise
Please help! I have three established mesquite trees and the leaves are yellow. We broke a twig and it’s tan inside and it didn’t break easily. We’re so concerned that they’re dead. Please advise