Help with root care...

[logantree]

I finally finished with the cabling/bracing job I had. I can't be sure I did it correctly, but it was a fun job. I suggested that they have me kill all the grass beneath it out to the drip line, and at the very least put some mulch down. What else would you suggest I do?

I've attached some pictures of the tree after the crown cleaning and cabling/bracing. Let me know what I did wrong.

Have a good one!

 

[pdqdl]

What you did wrong was

... not take pictures that show us what a fine job you did!

I can't find any cables in the picture, but it looks like the cable ends on the second pic. 4 cables?

I think you might have set your cables higher in the tree and used fewer of them, but I really can't tell.

 

[BC WetCoast]

They would be better off moving the road away from the drip line of the tree to reduce soil compaction of that portion of the root zone.

The problem I have with a large mulch ring around the tree, is that unless someone maintains it, within a couple of years it becomes a weed zone. The weed seeds germinate as the mulch decomposes.

I would be more inclined to put a relatively small mulch ring around the stem to prevent mechanical damage from the mower.

It's hard to tell from the pics, but is there a bug eating the leaves, or have they just not fully formed yet?

 

[chewbacca]

Those are bracing ends right? 4 threaded rods not cables?

 

[logantree]

Those are brace rod ends, not cable ends. I don't have any good pictures that show the cable. The leaves took a little bit of a hit from a couple of frosts we had, but they're doing better now.

Moving the drive is not really an option. Just to the right of the drive is a pretty good size pond, and just past the tree is a little bridge over a creek. They are really good customers, so if I told them I would need to maintain the mulch I'm sure they would go for it. Should I use something like a plugger to loosen up the dirt under the tree?

 

[D Mc]

LT, sounds like you have a great situation there with a nice tree and willing homeowners. Other than the frost mentioned, how stressed was this tree? Was there a lot of deadwood, was the split opening, receding of crown? From the picture you showed, the tree looks pretty nice now.

We recommend mulch rings all the time. And have seen the benefits. A large tree like this in a grass area may have some complications in establishing a mulch ring all the way out to the drip line. (Which I think would look really good.) It is in a slight dip so the mulch, if placed thick enough to deter the grass, may have a tendency to erode back down to the root flare. Also if the mulch was placed thick enough all the way out to the drip line to deter the grass, you would need about 6". Great care would need to be taken in the selection of mulch that it did not create a hydrophobic mat.

Because of this and the fact that most trees do not like major changes all at once, I would suggest starting off with a moderate size mulch ring (say 12 ft dia) and progressively enlarge it.

Unless there is something we don't see from the photos, the tree has come to grips with its location. So I would not recommend bringing in any earth disturbing tools. Let the change develop naturally and slowly as the mulch ring increases in size.

Dave

 

[treeseer]

Unless there is something we don't see from the photos, the tree has come to grips with its location. So I would not recommend bringing in any earth disturbing tools. Let the change develop naturally and slowly as the mulch ring increases in size.

Dave

Totally agree--mow low, broadcast fert, wait to green up, then spray is a way to get rid of bad weeds like bermudagrass