Fishin' Rod
ArboristSite Lurker
We have planted about 150 trees on our Kansas farm in the last three years. Mostly hybrid oak trees, persimmons, and pear trees. We are located right at the border between Zone 6 and Zone 7.
I have fought the drought for the last two years, and most of the trees have made it through. However, a few of the trees have survived tough conditions but they are just barely hanging on to life. These trees suffered from one of two problems. Most are located in my areas with the sandiest soil. I amended with lots of peat moss before planting, but these soils did not hold as much precious water during the drought and some of these trees suffered drought damage. The other problem is tree damage due to burrowing pocket gophers. I have been watering some of these trees and then had the soil suddenly collapse into a round 1-1/2" hole. I then have to gently tamp the soil with my boot to get the water to pool at the tree. I don't know if the gophers damaged the trees directly by eating through a large percentage of the root system, or if they just made large air pockets around the roots and the tree subsequently suffered because the roots could not reach much water.
For both the drought damage and the gopher damage the results are roughly the same. The main leader of the tree died and a few leaves did manage to survive at the base of the trunk. However, the next spring, these trees did attempt to come back. Some had limited leaf growth at the base of the trunk and some had water sprouts that grew fairly quickly.
Question for the experts:
I did NOT fertilize the damaged trees this spring because they were somewhat stressed. I would like to fertilize them this fall as the summer heat stress and drought is abating. However, none of these trees are healthy and robust. Can I still fertilize them this fall to help the tree with a little late growth, or does that increase my chance of killing the tree this winter since very little of the above ground portion that is living would be woody material that would survive several winter hard freezes?
Thanks for any assistance in this matter. (I know this is not a question with a clear cut answer. Therefore any speculation or ideas from people with more tree care experience would still be greatly appreciated.)
Thanks,
Fishin' Rod
I have fought the drought for the last two years, and most of the trees have made it through. However, a few of the trees have survived tough conditions but they are just barely hanging on to life. These trees suffered from one of two problems. Most are located in my areas with the sandiest soil. I amended with lots of peat moss before planting, but these soils did not hold as much precious water during the drought and some of these trees suffered drought damage. The other problem is tree damage due to burrowing pocket gophers. I have been watering some of these trees and then had the soil suddenly collapse into a round 1-1/2" hole. I then have to gently tamp the soil with my boot to get the water to pool at the tree. I don't know if the gophers damaged the trees directly by eating through a large percentage of the root system, or if they just made large air pockets around the roots and the tree subsequently suffered because the roots could not reach much water.
For both the drought damage and the gopher damage the results are roughly the same. The main leader of the tree died and a few leaves did manage to survive at the base of the trunk. However, the next spring, these trees did attempt to come back. Some had limited leaf growth at the base of the trunk and some had water sprouts that grew fairly quickly.
Question for the experts:
I did NOT fertilize the damaged trees this spring because they were somewhat stressed. I would like to fertilize them this fall as the summer heat stress and drought is abating. However, none of these trees are healthy and robust. Can I still fertilize them this fall to help the tree with a little late growth, or does that increase my chance of killing the tree this winter since very little of the above ground portion that is living would be woody material that would survive several winter hard freezes?
Thanks for any assistance in this matter. (I know this is not a question with a clear cut answer. Therefore any speculation or ideas from people with more tree care experience would still be greatly appreciated.)
Thanks,
Fishin' Rod