Can this tree be saved? When we bought this lot about 6 years ago... this tree was one of the reasons we bought it. It is a huge, magnificent red oak tree. There was another oak tree that was even bigger, but it was, unfortunately, right in the middle of the lot and had to be cut down to build the house. This one was actually too close to the house, but the builder moved the house over and forward as much as he could to try and spare it. And we thought it worked. It's been doing well until this year. Now several branches are dead or dying, and dried leaves are strewn all over the lawn and gardens. I don't know what happened. If it is something called oak wilt, it is just a matter of weeks until it's all over, according to what I've read online. Could it be something else?
Update: The tree did have oak wilt and had to be cut down. Red oaks are particularly susceptible. We have white oaks in the yard as well, and the most magnificent of those also succumbed to oak wilt in 2010. The one pictured here was named Genevieve and was to be the site of a planned tree house. Of course, it was only in the planning stages and probably wouldn't have made it past the neighborhood association rules and regs. (The kind of tree house I had in mind is the kind with climate and insect control.)
