Trees in FY
Hey Guys, I have a tree question. I had a guy come over to give an estimate on some tree trimming on two oak trees in the front yard. I have a flowerbed around each with the dirt piled up and around the tree. He said that this was bad for the trees and could cause either rotting, infestation, disease, global warming or something equally as bad. Has anyone ever heard of this before? I always see people with flowerbeds built around their trees and didn't think that it was a problem? Thanks, Mitch
In a message dated 5/17/2004 9:35:18 AM Central Daylight Time, dirk33@... writes: I have a flowerbed around each with the dirt piled up and around the tree
Er ... I'm going to have to differ with Sidney's advice here. She is absolutely right that you do not want dirt to be piled up above the tree's natural root line. When you pile dirt up above that line, it just becomes an avenue for rot to set in and for bugs, etc., and also, as she said the tree will just struggle if "buried" in that way. So the first thing you should do is (gently) pull the dirt away from the tree until you come to the natural root line. However -- you should not create a little watering moat around the tree of only 2 or 3 inches. Basically, you don't want water sitting up against the bark for any length of time, which is why you want to pull the dirt away from that area in the first place. Also you should not have mulch resting up against the bark, for the same reason. Another thing to consider is that oaks really don't benefit much from watering right around the trunk. Tree experts tell you to water around the "drip line," which is out where the tree's canopy ends. That can be kind of impractical if you have a tree with a 30' spread, but in any case watering right up against the trunk will encourage rot and not get to most of the roots. As for flowers around the tree, I have them around one of my trees -- but it is not an oak tree. Oak trees are notoriously fussy about having people messing around with their roots or on top of their roots. Different species of trees react differently to this. Also, it can matter what you have planted. If you absolutely have to have flowers around the tree, go for something with a shallow root system that you put in once and leave there (i.e., a perennial, not an annual), and something that doesn't require much if any extra watering. Something like bearded iris would be a good choice. What you do NOT want is to be constantly messing around the area and watering it every single week. Something that you can leave alone and water once a month would be best. I am not an expert, just an avid gardener, and I found out much of this info by talking to *my* local Master Gardener when I had the same questions. I strongly agree with Pat that you should call up your local MG and quiz him or her about this. If you can't find a listing for a MG (look in the blue government pages) then call up your local ag dept or county extension agent. ciao, Ann
In a message dated 5/17/2004 2:53:24 PM Central Daylight Time, amjordan@... writes: Tree experts tell you to water around the "drip line," which is out where the tree's canopy ends Sorry, I missed the part about it being a big old oak! I have such tiny trees I water them right at the base! Sidney