Little leaf linden dieback questions

stheis004 · May 10, 2016

Hi all, I don't typically deal with diseases and plant health care but promise I'll do more research on this when I have time. I have a friend of a friend who I may do some side work for who has a ~35 year old little leaf linden that had a lead in it die last year that is basically 1/3 of the tree. Other than being co-dom, tree appears healthy and good. Any ideas what to look for solving the why this happened? Most importantly i don't want to do the work for him only to have the rest die soon after. Thanks!

FJR · May 10, 2016

The first step is to check for girdled roots at the base of the tree. You may need to excavate the soil to inspect. This tends to be their biggest problem in our area (Chicagoland).

stheis004 · May 11, 2016

Thanks for the reply, would a girdled root cause that fast (in one season) of a reaction? Thanks!

mrtree · May 11, 2016

Insects

guymayor · May 12, 2016

Picture?

Tom Dunlap · May 13, 2016

SGRs and lindens are common...almost guaranteed.

stheis004 · May 14, 2016

thanks guys, don't have a good picture of anything up close but here is the one I have, the front 1/3 of the tree is dead. I didn't notice anything that would point me to think it was insect damage. So girdled roots will cause an entire lead to die in a year? I've kinda thought girdled roots slow growth and cause dieback. Thanks guys!

mrtree · May 15, 2016

Linden Borer, then add in something such as an oomycete that clogs the few remain vessels and you have what appears to be instant death. Likely 2 to 5 years of damage preceding the death.