Trunk Injections with Alamo, or Arbor-Vax™ Oak Wilt Treatments
For almost 35 years the State of Texas has “Officially Approved” of only Trunk Injections with Alamo.
I found that process to be tedious, and too expensive for the homeowner, it was also very rough on a Tree’s health
For that reason, I started working on another Process I call Arbor-Vax™.
Trunk Injections Arbor-Vax™
- Do NOT Address Oak Wilt
- Leave Damaging Holes in the Tree
- Introduce Fungicide into the Tree Damaging Beneficial Microbes
- Are very costly, and sometimes need to be repeated 3 times in 5 year period
- Addresses the Oak WIlt in the Roots
- Is very Beneficial for the Health of the Tree and Soil
- Inoculates against other pathogens like Seridium Canker, and Botryospheria
- Is half the price of Injections
Three Short Videos to Simplify Things
Why We Avoid Injections.
These Pics show what Injections can really do to your trees
Injections damage the Cambial Layers of a Tree. These layers are used to transport nutrients and carbon up and down the Tree. Nutrients are brought into the Tree by Fungal Networks. Injecting Propiconazole kills it all.
Healing ANYTHING is a Process
Red Oak Injection Damage
The “Bleached Out” areas are damage in the tree. They are likely no longer moving anything in the Tree. Look at the ratio of Bleached/unbleached bark. Its quite a loss…
Live Oak Injection Damage
The decay is easier to spot after a year or two.
Injection Damage
You can see the bark around the injection ports are starting to break down
… and more Injection Damage
2 Years later – the bark is rotting, and the holes are getting larger.
What does Oak Wilt Look Like?
These leaves are a good sample of what you are looking for when checking your trees for Oak Wilt. Look on the ground, they are much easier to spot.
Veinal Necrosis
The most common sign of Oak Wilt.
More Veinal Necrosis
It is much easier to spot on the ground.
In the Trees
The leaves turn necrotic while they are still in the Trees, but it is harder to spot.
Bronzing
The entire Tree can either go bronze, or lose it’s foliage altogether. They decline very suddenly.
How well does our Process work? Pictures Say it Best.
These Trees were injected for Oak Wilt in 2020. They were again infected in summer 2022, and were once again in steep decline. They were actually too far gone for injections to be considered. Removal was the only thing on the table. The owners let me try my process, and had the patience to hang in there (that’s a big deal). Fast Forward 8 months… Now (still very short on rainfall) they are clearly making a big comeback without injections.
Late Summer 2022
Oak Wilt is Present and Most of the Trees in this Mott are Infected, a lack of rain is adding to the stress. Remember, these are Live Oaks, they should have leaves all year.
Spring 2023
Not much rain this year, but after Fall and Spring Arbor-Vax™ there is no Oak Wilt and Trees are Flushing out.
Late Summer 2022
Trees are stressed and Oak Wilt is Present throughout this Mott of Live Oak. These Trees should be full of leaves all year.
Spring 2023
Trees are now flushing out and in recovery. I will continue to Post as they progress.
Oak Wilt FAQ’s
Q – Does A&M support your Arbor-Vax?
A – No, they cannot. It is a Proprietary Process they do not have access to.
Q – How do I know if my Trees are infected?
A – The first sign is Veinal Necrosis, when you see that you need to call the A&M extension service or an Arborist like myself to get confirmation.
Q – Will I lose my trees if I have it?
A – If you don’t treat them and they are infected, then it’s likely you will lose most of them.
Q – Can Oak Wilt be prevented??
A – Yes, that is the whole idea behind Arbor-Vax™, we inoculate the trees, and the soil twice a year so the Tree can take care of itself.
Q – What if my Oaks are already infected with Oak Wilt?
A – We can clean up the infection, depending on how badly they are infected, and how long they have been infected, it may require an additional treatment in the first year.
Q – How badly can the Trees be infected with Oak Wilt and still be saved?
A – With Injections the rule has always been any more than 25% leaf loss, and it’s a removal. With Arbor-Vax™, I have treated Trees with 80% leaf loss and seen them come back.
Q – How does Arbor-Vax work?
A – It is not like a treatment, but more of a process. I build health in the Soil and Trees over time, strengthening their Resistance (think of our immune system) and the Oak will be able to resist most infections.
Q – Is it expensive to treat?
A – 2 Years of Arbor-Vax is far less than the cost of a single round of injections.
Q – Why do we do Injections?
A – Injections were the solution to Dutch Elm Disease, someone tried it for Oak Wilt, and it worked. Texas used to be satisfied with that, I think that is changing…
Q – Do Injections hurt Trees?
A – Yes they do. Not only do they hurt trees, but so does Alamo. It is a fungicide and kills Fungi indiscriminately. Trees require specific Fungi to gather resources and survive. When a Tree is injected it loses some of it’s abilities, Health and Resistance, it becomes weaker across the board.
Q – What is Trenching and do I need to do it?
A – Not likely. More often than not, it is only a consideration for Ranches and larger properties.
Q – What do I do next?
A – Click the yellow button to the right…
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