Please help(Chicago)

[Chuck Weyer]

Hello all I’m new to the forum, I recently noticed our autumn blaze maple had a horrible bloom this year, I reached out to a few tree service companies in our area, one company came out today and said the tree had chlorosis and needs manganese injections as well as girdling roots, I was quoted $150 for injections and $200 to remove girdling roots. I researched a little bit on line and was wondering if I can save the money of the root removal and do it myself, it looks like I would just remove the root that is wrapped around the trunk? As far as injections go what’s your thoughts? Thanks everyone

 

[ATH]

Yeah...try to remove that root, but don't cut into the bark of the tree trunk. Take your time. Cheap chisels are helpful. That will take a couple of years for the tree to respond.

Did they do a soil test? Injections are a "bandaid". The girdling root is part of the problem. But chlorosis is most often a soil pH problem. If that is the problem, you need to start addressing that. Lowering soil pH is a little like pushing water uphill. Keep a wide mulch ring, add compost, I'd add soil sulfur as well. It is a long-term prospect.

Did they test the leaves for nutrients? Manganese is the normal deficiency in maple....but if it is not the problem here, injecting more could cause more problems.

 

[Chuck Weyer]

No testing was done at all, even though I’m in a big city I can’t seem to find anyone who seems like they know what they are doing. They wanted $200 to remove the root and $150 to inject, some other places I called only do tree trimming, Chicago had record breaking rain this year with about 7” so far, could that be the problem as well? I looked for someone on find an arborist website and having trouble finding someone reliable that knows what they are talking about.

 

[no tree to big]

No testing was done at all, even though I’m in a big city I can’t seem to find anyone who seems like they know what they are doing. They wanted $200 to remove the root and $150 to inject, some other places I called only do tree trimming, Chicago had record breaking rain this year with about 7” so far, could that be the problem as well? I looked for someone on find an arborist website and having trouble finding someone reliable that knows what they are talking about.

I am out of the west burbs perhaps my company could help, we have 4 certified arbs on staff. Where are you located? Just curious what companies did you call? If you want you can pm their names so it's not public.
Btw around here this year a lot of maples have been experiencing a rough time. We arnt really sure why at this point but we have been fertilizing many and haven't had many call backs saying the trees are still declining. Also with the maples soil ph is often the cause of the yellowing you are experiencing. Soil ph can be altered but it's a slow change most cases. If your tree is injected it may perk up but once the tree uses those nutrients the chlorosis will return.
You have a girdling root that will cause problems in the future if not removed, at this point I'm not to convinced it's causing much strain to the tree. So only removing the root will probably not solve any current problems.

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[Chuck Weyer]

I’d be up for you to take a look and see what you think, can you PM me your info?