Dying Texas Laurel Mountain Trees

Question

I started building my house in September 2020. One of the reason I choose the lot was the trees. I had about 8 Texas Laurel Mountain tress. When they started building the house all of them were alive but 3 of the trees didn’t look as good I thought maybe they had trauma when they were grading yard. When I moved in February 2021 we had a freeze so I didn’t expect anything to really be thriving. In June 2021 everything was back except those 3 trees. By October no leaves, the bark looked really dried out. I tried spraying the trees with a spray for multiple type of diseases. I used the Miracle grow tree spike but still nothing. I was going to cut them down but when I cut one limb down the inside of the tree still looked alive so I sprayed sealant and left it alone. We sprayed again and used more miracle grow spikes. Now it’s almost April and they look dead!! Should I just take them down. I hate to cut a tree down but I need privacy since I live on the downside of a hill and my neighbors are practically in my backyard. Is there anything I can do? I was told give them time they could come back but it’s been over a year and they got worse not better. Please help!!

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Answer 1

Make sure that you test you soil! There is likely too much nutrients, which will stunt or kill the trees.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/testing-soil.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/soil-ph-plants.htm

Once you have the results of these two tests, then you can begin to correct the issue.

This article will help you to know what care these shrubs require:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/mountain-laurel/mountain-laurel-growing.htm