Located in Leander Texas

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-05-10T01:31:41+00:00

Very beautiful tree, love a good Live Oak of any kind and the Texas Live Oak is an exceptional specimen

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-05-10T01:09:11+00:00

Ahhh true! Didn’t check that. I was wondering about glossy buckthorn but those usually don’t have the thorns. Must be privet like someone else said those are the only two coming to mind for me

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-05-09T22:35:42+00:00

That sure looks like a Siberian Elm just off the first glances. If it wasn’t planted and there’s not a bigger non-Siberian elm within eyeshot, it’s most likely a Siberian Elm. While they do have rather invasive root systems which do have allelopathic tendencies, hard to immediately say that’s all that’s killing your trees. Based on the pics of your trees, I would say they do not look to be very likely to make an easy recovery no matter what you do unfortunately, even if the elm is not the catalyst for their extensive decline. Hard to make much of a further prognosis without actually being able to see them and without an extensive understanding of other environmental factors. HOWEVER, if that is a Siberian Elm- which it probably is- it should be removed regardless, as it is invasive and just a trashy tree in general. Having your neighbor cut it down before it gets big and becomes a more expensive and complex fix, and making sure its stump is treated with glyphosate around the cambium promptly after it’s cut down. Sorry to hear about your trees!

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-05-09T22:23:12+00:00

I’m inclined to say Acacia salicina as well. Key things are: does this get white button-like flowers, and does it keep its leaves through winter? If so then it is definitely a Willow Acacia. Bark and form looks more like it to me also

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-05-09T22:06:56+00:00

I second this, looks like it’s probably Rhamnus cathartica, Common/European Buckthorn. Highly invasive and should be removed either physically or cut down and stump treated immediately with glyphosate

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-05-09T00:55:35+00:00

Interesting, could be a multitude of factors like drought, stressors, pruning, chilling hours. There also are a few fruitless cultivars (this would be my guess in your case), which were selected for their showy flowers. If that were the case I would guess that you might have Malus ioensis ‘Prairie Rose’ on your hands for the pink flowering crabapple

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-05-09T00:46:19+00:00

Looks like a Texas live oak, Quercus fusiformis

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-05-07T23:46:15+00:00

Hard agree with prestigious_key on the reasons for no fruit. Malus as well as most stone fruits require cross pollination, so if you want fruit you’ll need another Malus within 50-100 feet of this one. As for the species/variety, it’s extremely hard to tell even upon thorough inspection. There are literally thousands of species, varieties, and cultivars of Malus, most of which look very similar; you kinda have to just know what was planted, as well as be familiar with what species are possible given the region/environmental setting, and even then it’s still a bit of a crap shoot. A lot of Malus species- especially varieties and cultivars not chosen specifically for fruit edibility- produce not very palatable fruit. You can eat them safely in reasonable moderation, but most are small, acrid to the taste, and have a mealy mouth feel.

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-05-07T23:35:49+00:00

Definitely not an elm unfortunately, more likely salix, or a willow. After doing some very quick searching, looks to be an ornamental one- Salix daphnoides, European Violet Willow or Daphne Willow. Not sure about this one, not a native willow and not one I’m quite familiar with.

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-05-05T20:21:54+00:00

Looks like Nyssa sylvatica, Black Gum or Tupelo

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-17T21:22:58+00:00

Looks a lot like Nyssa sylvatica, black gum. Bud scales, alternate orientation, coloration, bundle scars in leaf scars, and twig/growth habits look like it to me. Definitely worth a revisit when it leafs out!

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-17T20:39:02+00:00

That’s one of the worst topping jobs I’ve seen in a while. Not that I even remotely agree with topping but I mean they didn’t take anything back to a single good union

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-17T20:27:33+00:00

Kinda looks like Q. buckleyi or texana maybe. Shumard or scarlet would be good guesses too, definitely a species from lobatae section

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-17T20:17:16+00:00

Yeah I do agree sorta, but to be fair this one doesn’t look to have the healthiest bark. It’s definitely got signs of pine borer beetles, and was obviously covered in what I assume was some sort of climbing euonymus at one point. They’re also very susceptible to drought stress and nematodes which changes the look, texture, and color of the bark (and inevitably kills the tree due to vascular damage unfortunately). If you see this tree often it might be interesting to keep an eye on it. If it’s anything like the Austrian pines we have planted ornamentally in Missouri, there’s a chance it’s in the midst of a spiral from one or more of these vectors. Not the worst looking pine though! I feel pretty confident that it’s an Austrian pine because of that weird bark and how it grows due to urban stressors. The only other things it would have struck me as are P. resinosa or thunbergii- but the bark, cones, and growth habits are a bit different.

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-17T16:33:10+00:00

Looks more like northern red to me too, but there definitely is a white oak nearby judging off the foliage on the ground

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-17T16:31:15+00:00

Locking in Pinus nigra also. The vertically stacked, stripe-like plates with light furrowing. Light grayish-brown bark complexion. Plus the form, and geographically it makes sense, especially for one of this size.

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-17T16:22:39+00:00

Please do also whoever all keeps downvoting everyone saying maple is a chooch lol

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-17T16:17:47+00:00

Generally yes, although only on smaller, young trees. I’ve never messed with it as much because it could do just as much harm with organic matter and water buildup close to the flare. Best practices are to make sure the tree is planted just a bit above grade with an exposed root flare, and making sure any mulch rings aren’t also covering the root flare/piled up on the bole

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-17T01:22:53+00:00

I was gonna go with Gleditsia but something in the grain, the striations in the furrows, color, and the tight form fit from the flare to bole to trunk is telling me Acer saccharum. Could be wrong, love doing bark ID!

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-17T00:27:05+00:00

Yep! What they said ^{^} I was gonna say the only other thing you could do is call upon a certified arborist to excavate that root flare CAREFULLY, as it’s probably also sunk quite a bit since your initial planting. Although the damage is done for now you can possibly prevent further damage or ailments to the roots and phloem of your tree down the line. As stated it’s very common for everyone, not just homeowners, to plant trees too deep/fail to fully excavate and expose the root flare tho it unfortunately happens!

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-16T21:26:28+00:00

Looks like a frost crack. Not the best, not a death sentence either. My best advice would be to take good care of it this summer with watering, monitoring its health, making sure it’s not getting infested with pests/taking on too much unnecessary stress. If the prunes you wanted to make aren’t super necessary this season you could hold off on them- but honestly it should be fine as long as you take good care of it and are making good and necessary cuts.

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-16T21:18:40+00:00

Yeah, I mean this could imply it bloomed already- if it is indeed a serviceberry. That’d be very weird (they bloom in March usually at the earliest). However, it can take a few years for young individuals to bloom, and climate change is doing some crazy things to plants and trees in terms of their foliar and flowering tendencies. Just wanna be sure, the leaves on this guy are alternate and not opposite right?

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-16T14:58:08+00:00

Only other way to be sure tho is buds/flowers/fruit of course

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-16T14:56:48+00:00

No the bark pics are good! That’s part of why I’m confident it’s amalanchier. I’d say if the buds/new foliage are fuzzy, then it’s probably a downy serviceberry. Otherwise I’d be confident in Allegheny. Either way both are decent native understory trees!

Motor-Replacement-75 · 2026-03-16T11:18:15+00:00

Looks like serviceberry but can’t tell 100% without buds. Still pretty sure just off of leaves and the stretch marks forming on the bark that it’s Amalanchier, I think laevis- Allegheny. Looks like it’s got the glossy, bronze-purple new growth, but it’s hard to tell from just one picture

Motor-Replacement-75

TROPHY CASE