THE EASTERN REDBUD HOW IT BECAME THE OKLAHOMA STATE TREE Oklahoma has a colorful history when it comes to selecting state symbols and the state tree is no different.  The "Oklahoma Redbud War" of the 1930s began when Oklahoma City resident Marmie Lee Brown wrote a...

TREE EMERGENCIES It's springtime in Oklahoma and that means severe weather.  Located in the Southern Plains and in the heart of Tornado Alley, Oklahoma weather can wreak havoc on trees.  Thunderstorms, high winds, and tornadoes can result in entire trees being snapped...

CODOMINANT STEMS The term "codominant stems" is used to describe 2 or more stems that emerge from the same location on the main trunk of a tree.  The stems are similar in size and neither one is dominant.  Codominant stems can be hazardous and often times require...

TREE CANKERS Cankers are dead sections of bark, branches, or trunk on a tree.  They are among the most destructive and hard to manage tree problems as they attack a tree's tissue cells and cause decay. Most canker diseases are caused by fungi that grows between the...

ROOT ROT Root rot is a disease that attacks the roots of trees growing in wet or damp soil.  It is a decaying disease that spreads through soil and will lead to the eventual death of a tree. CAUSES The most common cause of root rot is wet soil, usually from poor...

JUST SAY NO TO TREE TOPPING WHAT IS TOPPING According to the International Society of Arboriculture, topping is the indiscriminate cutting of tree branches used to reduce the size of a tree.  Topping is the most harmful tree practice known and is not a viable method...