When our neighborhood was developed, there was a requirement to plant a maple tree in each home’s front yard.
A storm with some strong winds came through last night and blew over our neighbor’s maple tree. Looks like it snapped right where the trunk meets the ground. Not uprooted at all. A very similar thing happened to another neighbor last year.
Our maple tree is the one still standing in the pictures. We really love this tree. Is there anything I can do to help prevent our tree from suffering a similar fate?
The fallen tree’s leaves had started to yellow a bit over the last few weeks (it’s been very hot).
We also do have an irrigation system for the lawn, I don’t know if that makes a difference.
by jschomb
3 Comments
Do you see how your neighbor’s tree looks like it just popped out of the ground and if you could stand it back up just plug it back into the stump? This is what turf grass around the base of the tree does and why every arborist in this sub screams from the rooftops about root flare. So you can remove the turf from around your tree minimum 18″ in diameter and see what the root flare looks like after the grass is gone. Post an update with pictures for next steps.
Its root flare was buried and it girdled itself to death. You can see the giant girdling root in the hole.
I’d guess that the trees purchased weren’t the best and already had the roots wrapped in the pot. I would clear the grass away and make sure the root flare isn’t buried, but if it’s like the neighbors…the damage was done a long time ago.
As a starting point, OP, if you look carefully at pic 3, you can see the outline of a small mound surrounding the tree, where the grass is raised up. About 18 inches to 2 feet in every direction from the stump.
Unbury that entire mound, by hand. NO metal tools. It’s not as hard as it sounds because the grass will just come up like a carpet. Once you’ve removed grass and dirt until the tops of the roots in that area are exposed, cover with a THIN layer of mulch. Half an inch is ideal. No mulch should be touching the trunk of the tree.