Last year on this date I first treated several ailing coast live oaks with a fire mimicry protocol. To be honest, I was not optimistic about being able to help these oaks, which had been in decline for several years. Still, the owner wanted to try and I’m sure happy that he did. Today I inspected and re-photographed the oaks and, despite the different light conditions, found they have clearly shown improvement in canopy density and lushness. Note that the final oak in this series is UNTREATED.
Here are some other coast live oaks in Piedmont, CA, all of which have responded to fire mimicry treatments in just one year.
Yesterday I inspected and re-photographed several ailing coast live oaks and a coast redwood in Piedmont, CA that were treated with fire mimicry one year ago. The photos indicate that all of the trees show clear improvement in canopy density and lushness. Thank you for taking notice of, and sharing, these important results!
Last year fire mimicry treatments were applied to several coast live oaks in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Watsonville. Despite the very dry rainy season and current drought conditions, these oaks are showing noticeable improvement in their canopy density after just one year. The soil fertilization treatments involved very little nitrogen or phosphorus and focused, instead, on amendments with alkaline-rich mineral nutrients. This is more evidence that fire mimicry is viable approach to improving and maintaining oaks health.
Sudden Oak Life by Lee Klinger 
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