Sudden Oak Death (SOD) fungus could be a serious threat to oak trees in the Southeast. It has caused great damage to oaks in California. Several commonly grown woody plants (camellia, rhododendron, viburnum, etc) can be carriers of the disease, even though they are not killed by it.

In March 2004, nurseries in California that ship their plants to Georgia were found to have SOD in their plant material. Georgia immediately quarantined plants from those nurseries.

Subsequently, plants at several retail nurseries in Georgia which had bought plants from California were found to be positive for SOD.

The recommendation is to monitor suspect plants and contact your county Extension office (404-897-6261) if you have reason to believe your sick plants have SOD.

Further information about SOD can be found at the Invasive.org website.

Check out the SOD Update from Dr. Jean Williams-Woodward at UGA

See also the California Sudden Oak Death website.

See these links for initial information on treating infected oaks. This treatment is NOT necessary or recommended for oaks in Georgia at this time.

New Treatment for Sudden Oak Death

Forest Service Evalutaion of SOD Fungicides