Allyn
New Member
We had some strong straight line winds 50mph+ that hit our area and we lost a healthy 18" diameter oak (plenty of green leaves, healthy looking bark). I went down into our ravine and noticed that our lawn care company was dumping their grass clippings around the tree. The pile was pretty deep and decomposing and it looked like they had been dumping there for quite some time. I dug down and it was very wet & slimy. My question is "Would such a pile hold enough moisture and could this have caused the tree roots to retract and stay shallow?" "Would this have caused the tree to fall prematurely?" "Would our clay soil have been made soft enough to cause the tree to lose it's anchoring?" In our neighborhood, I have only seen one other large tree fallen by the wind, which was in a ravine and on a very steep slope. Thanks so much for your help, guidance and input. :msp_mad: