Question
QUESTION: have a large legacy broad leaf oak tree in distress.  tree has girth of at least 10 feet.  lowest limbs about 20 feet above ground are dying.  recently had fungal bloom about 3 inches above soil surface.  suspect "bracket fungus" is organism.

looking for chemical soil treatment.  do you have or know of  systemic fungicide that can be applied to the soil to eliminate this infection?

thank you.

ANSWER: Sounds like what you are seeing is the fruiting stage of a decay fungi. I would suspect that the tree is hollow. Decay fungi if they get into a tree trunk will "eat" the woody part of the tree and over time will hollow out the trunk. It is similar to tooth decay and the only way to rid the tree of the fungi is to scrape all the decay out and seal the wound--which would be impossible.  The fungi will from time to time send out what is called conks -these are the fruiting bodies and contain spore of the fungus that will be moved by the wind to other wounds on trees. Decay fungi do not kill the tree since they infect the dead woody cells. The living cells on a tree are just under the bark and these type fungi will not harm these cells. They can cause the tree to begin to break apart if the hollow reaches the limbs. During wind storms the limbs weakened by the hollow can break off. The dying of the lower limbs could be a fungi but also could be the tree shedding limbs as they are shaded out.

I would fertilize the tree with  10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of 1 lb per inch of trunk diameter scattered around the tree and watered in good. Do this this Fall and again in the Spring. This will strengthen the root system and will show up as an increase in foliage. Fungi do not respond to systemic fungicide applied to the soil. Fungicide are used fro foliage type disease but not decay fungi.

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QUESTION: Thanks Jim,  best advice/analysis I've gotten.  Has "ring of truth".

This is the VERY first indication of fungal infection.  Been here for 25 years and nothing / no problems with this tree before.  Definitely NOT hollow - yet.  Suspect a dead root.

Will definitely follow your advice concerning fertilizing and water.  We are currently in a 5 year drought in Atlanta and I've been trying to keep this tree watered but obviously not enough or irrigation/drainage system I've installed has contributed to  root damage, etc.   Also has been some soil mounding on other side of property line - about one quarter of canopy shadow and less than 10 inches of new soil about 5 years ago.

Since tree is NOT hollow, is there any chance that tree will recover and knock down this infection?  How will I know?  If no other fruiting bodies are seen is this a good sign?

Hate to lose this tree.  Big and legacy and bad location for removal.  Besides, I REALLY hate to cut hardwoods inside city limits.  Here in Atlanta, we are WAY below replacement growth.  I'm planting as fast as I can but neighbors don't have same philosophy.

Thanks again.  Pleasure to correspond with a quality expert.

Sincerely,

J.L. Bailey

Answer
If it is not hollow it just means the fungi has not been there long enough to hollow the tree but I would expect the wood inside the tree to be soft with the decay. BUT this is not a problem that will effect the health of the tree. Use the fertilizer and this will help the root system. The fill would have killed some roots and this is more than likely how the decay fungi entered the tree. I would not worry about seeing the conks of the fungi fruiting from time to time as long as the foliage is green, full and healthy looking.

You might wnat to call th Ga. Forestry Commission they have foresters who can assist landowners of Forest Health problems.  Here is the link to their Forest Health Foresters. Contact the one clostest or contact James Johnson Coordinator. You can tell him I told you to call.

http://www.gfc.state.ga.us/FHWQForesters.cfm