25 Foot Tall 10 Year Old Mesquite Tree
Question from Holly:
I live in the High Desert of Southern California. I have a mesquite tree that has been fine until four weeks ago. I went to our most knowledgable nursery and they say to water it and wait 2 weeks to see if it revives. It had lots of beautiful leaves 4 wks. ago ,now 3/4 of the tree has lost it leaves and looks like it may be dying! This is my favorite tree the mesquite near it is fine. There is no leaking sap .
Answer from Pat:
Mesquite trees (Prosopis glandulosa) are one of the most common native desert trees in the Southwest. This tree may have a single trunk or it may be a large multi-trunked shrub. It’s deciduous and drops leaves in winter but not at this time of year. There is also a superior thornless selection called ‘Maverick’. Instances of sudden defoliation, such as you describe, have happened in the past to mesquite trees, but when a valuable shade tree such as yours suddenly looses its foliage it’s cause for alarm and wise to try to figure out what happened to it.
In most cases of sudden defoliation the problem is insects. If this proves to be the case, the insect in question may spread to your other tree and to trees in your neighborhood. Have you looked closely to see if insects are the problem? Sometimes thousands of acres of mesquite can suffer defoliation from insects such as locust or exotic walking stick or caterpillars, such as bag worms. It’s remarkable how quickly some pests can defoliate a tree. In the case of bagworm, they are pretty visible. But some insects that attack mesquites are not so noticeable. Some pests feed on foliage, others bore into the wood (check for holes in trunk), and still others feed on buds, flowers, and pods.
Some specific bugs in Texas that can decimate a mesquite tree in pretty short order include Texas psyllid (Heteropsylla texana) and Western flower thrip (Frankliniella occidentalis). In 1971 in Texas there was what I can best describe as a plague of cutworms that suddenly defoliated thousands of acres of mesquite trees, but I am happy to report that not a single tree died as a result. So there is hope for your tree.
Nonetheless, you cannot be too cautious. Since your tree lost its leaves so suddenly, this may be the beginning of an onslaught of insects, or of a particular pest, on other mesquite trees. I advise you to take any evidence you find on the tree such as twigs or damaged leaves, bag it in a ziplock bag, and report what happened right away to your local branch of the US Department of Agriculture or to your County Extension Farm or Horticultural Advisor. Certainly from this distance I can’t diagnose the problem or tell you what might be wrong with your tree or how to cope with it.
Thank you . I hired a tree doctor regarding tree seems to be dying . He says that it is indeed sunburned and also he says it had been pruned improperly. He recomended ironite and he would properly prune dead branches off next week and to water it . We shall see . I turned my clay soil and put in superthrive and ironite on different days and have watered it.
Thanks you for the feedback. I am glad you got professional advice about your tree.
We recently lost a 25′ Mesquite to the winds.(uprooted) How large of a replacement tree is commercialy available?
Sorry about the loss of your tree. Twenty-five foot mesquite trees (Prosopis glandulosa) are available for sale in Texas but I have not seen one that size in California, though I don’t know for sure. Anyway, it would be better to start with a smaller size or you are likely to lose another to the wind. They grow fast anyway and trees get a better start with better root structure when you begin with a smaller specimen. You might even find some other kind of tree you would prefer.
Another thought is something they do in Japan. When city street trees fall over in heavy wind, they send out crews the very next day to run round and prop them all up again. They add guy wires and sometimes prune the trees a little, then water and care for them and the trees are fine. I learned this years ago and so when a young Monterey pine tree fell onto my drive I dug the planting hole a bit deeper and pushed it up again myself. It had been in the ground a couple of years and was about 15 feet tall. I was amazed I could do this, but there was something about how the root ball was balanced that made it possible. I supported it for a year or two with wires. It grew 35 feet tall, lived 50 years and then leaned over in a wind and threatened to fall over again. Before it did, I quickly had it cut down.
Sizeable boxed or balled mesquite trees are sold in most populated desert areas throughout the west. You can get almost any size from small to large, with the largest being anywhere from eight to fifteen feet tall with trunks measuring 28 inches in diameter or more. Phone Long Canyon Tree Farms, Desert Hot Springs (760) 329-8213 or Green Desert Wholesale Tree in Indio (760) 360-6937 or Thousand Palms Nursery (760-610-3652) to enquire. These are not recommendations, only suggestions. I also suggest you ask advice from your local University Extension on the best way to proceed and when to plant. Also consult with your closest large-scale professional nursery, such as Armstrong Nursery. Just phone all these people, tell them your problem, write down all the answers you get and go from there. It is fun visiting tree farms and seeing what they have.
Wow, I have been searching for Mesquite info and you had a very good insight about Mesquites and where I can buy one.
Thanks
Thanks for comment. Hope you find what you need.