Discoloration is most readily seen in tangential cuts on branches. White oaks usually die slowly, one branch at a time, over a period of one to many years. Wilting and death of leaves on individual branches occur in a similar fashion to the disease in red oaks, but usually progresses much more slowly. Brown streaking in the outer growth rings is often readily apparent even to an untrained observer in infected white oaks and bur oaks, but may be missing. Texas live oaks can wilt and die rapidly or slowly, depending on the timing of infection and weather conditions, but generally succumb within 1-6 months of infection.
Affected leaves fall, and the tree crown progressively thins out until the entire tree is dead.
Fallen leaves under the tree may show darker brown veins for months. Sometimes just the tips, margins, or interveinal portions of leaves will turn yellow or brown, but these symptoms are not necessarily the result of oak wilt, and not as useful in diagnosing the disease. A small percentage of Texas live oaks may survive oak wilt infection indefinitely, while suffering varying degrees of crown loss.