Can This Red Elm Be Saved !?!?

[Yin]

I'm having a vary large retaining wall put up . It starts at 10' and the hight will change to suit the hill. I spoke with the land scapers for several hours on how important my trees are to me and that they not be damaged. They are very carefull and are very into their work. The problem is the people that they sub the excavating to. They use a Bobcat and needed something larger to dig with so they hired a friend of theirs to do it. I came home from work this saturday afternoon and I almost cried. There is much root damage to several trees and this Red Elm took the brunt of it. Im so p1ssed !! I had to take several trees down before thet started working because they would have fallen over after removing the earth underneeth. Every tree at the bottom of the hill was either hit by the bucket or had roots torn out. Not to mention this guy driving all over the root system with this loader !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry i'm done venting. I need to know though... Can this Slippery Elm be saved ?

ThankYou in advance...

Tony.

 

[Yin]

Another shot ...

Root damage.

 

[Yin]

>:/

uugh

 

[Yin]

There's no reason for this...

 

[Yin]

Upper View.

 

[Yin]

Here's one mOre for now .....

 

[Ax-man]

Typical excavator mentality when it comes to trees, trees are just something that is in their way and most just don't care.

Personally, I don't think it is that bad from the pictures, I've seen much worse over the years, it looks like about 1/3 or so of the roots have been disturbed. Elms aren't as sensitive as Oaks are to having their roots disturbed because they are more fiberous than a coarse root root system like an Oak.

Cut the roots that have damaged so that it is a clean cut and try to keep them from being exposed to the sun and keep the damaged area moist.

When the area is to be backfilled use an amended soil right around the damaged roots to encourage root regeneration.

My biggest concern here is now is the Red Elm is under stress and this species of Elm is very suseptible to DED. If it is in your area I would keep a watchful eye on the tree, if the neighbors have Elms I would be watching them too.

Another concern might be windthrow, but this would be a secondary concern as most of the roots appear to be on the uphill side. The weakened downhill side could add to the load of the good remaining roots.

Which tree got the most damage, the bigger one or the leaner??

Just my two centavoes worth.

Larry

 

[Guy Meilleur]

That's a lot of undermining for that big tree. much damage is covered by dirt I suspect. Can't understand the great need for a wall there but o well. Reducing the stability of a big tree that near your house was , well , um , ill-advised?

1. Get a hi-pressure garden hose and spray the damaged roots clean.

2. Take a loppers and make clean cuts, removing the worst of the root damage.

3. Cover with soil or burlap or something to prevent drying.

4. Culture the growth of the uncut roots; aerate fert, mulch.

5. Pray to the deity of your choice.

 

[Yin]

Once again I'll have to defend myself because of posting a question here. I suppose its a small price to pay to get answers from people that care about trees as much as I do. The reason for the wall is typical. The hill was eroding and the grade was up against my garage. The inspector wouldnt even include it in our appraisal because of it. All the wood is rotted and needs to be replaced. As I said in my first post I went over the importance of my trees over and over again with the landscapers. There was no need to dig into the hill. He actually went about six or seven feet in too far ! But it's done and I have to deal with trying to provide a way to help these trees recover from this trauma. I feel bad enough ... Believe me.

ThankYou for the posts. I allready started working on them. Yes there was damage under the neatly piled loam that I washed away. I have organic fertilizer and compost mixed with loam ready to go on the exposed roots. Some of the roots are split way into the dirt and I cant get to them to get a nice cut. Ill try my best. Thanks again.

I think so far from what I can see the Elm got the worst of it. The big Black Wallnut had a couple of roots that were stripped. But theres alot of soil piled around it. I'm still digging. I'll have to have a long yell er I mean talk with the landscapers tomorow morning.

 

[NeTree]

Tony, gimme a call sometime, and I can look 'em over fer ya.

What landscraper did that crud? (PM it if you feel the need.)

 

[Ax-man]

This question is more directed to Guy or anyone who can answer this. It is a little off thread but does pertain to damaged roots in a way.

About five years ago I was at a seminar at the headquarters for the Arbor Day Foundation out in Nebraska.

They had recently finished the parking lot and moved some very large trees with what I would consider an undersized tree spade for the caliper of the trees moved.

They had them under a mist system for about six weeks and washed in between the root ball and the side of the hole a 50/50 mix of sand and peat. to encouge the roots to quickly take hold.

The thinking behind this is similar to propation of some nursey stock. I know some of those Oregon growers use a similar method for softwood cuttings of those fancy cultivars of Red Maple, some how they have manged to bypass the budding or grafting process on some species.

Is there any merit to this sand peat mix or is it just a gimmick.

The reason for the question is I've been considering a tree spade in the future and this seemed to make sense to help a tree along in it's new home.

I have never heard of this, wondering if there is any research on this subject to document it.

Larry

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by Ax-man
Arbor Day Foundation out in Nebraska.

They had recently finished the parking lot and moved some very large trees They had them under a mist system for about six weeks and washed in between the root ball and the side of the hole a 50/50 mix of sand and peat. to encouge the roots to quickly take hold.

Wow that's a coincidence. 6 a.m. tomorrow i'm flying out there to NADF to present at a Building for Greener Communities conference Tuesday. If you remember where they were planted post it here and I'll check em out to see if they're alive.
Mixing sand and peat next to the rootball is a whole lot better than plopping it into a hole with glazed clay edges, which is SOP in NC.

Ideally it'd be structural soil blended with native soil, but they had the right idea and yes, for the same reasons as a nurseryman rooting cuttings; providing good conditions for root growth. Sounds like a no-brainer but most landscrapers don't WANT to get it; the less trees that fail, the less replacement biz they get.

 

[Ax-man]

If you get this before you leave Guy, the trees are right out front in the parking lot medians or planting strips

They planted a mix of Linden, Oaks and a Ginkgo with a codom stem that was unique looking, that is all I can remember seeing, there are probaly more. It would be interesting to hear how those trees are doing.

I hope you get a better room than I did, the building is unique because they used large Doug Fir logs for the main framing. My room was close to where the roof slanted down over my bed and I had one of the vertical supports right in the room. I'm 6'4" and I must have thunked my head at least six times that weekend getting in or out of bed or just walking around the room, if that wasn't bad enough I ran smack into the vertical one getting up in the middle of night going to little boys room the first night there, Ouch, that one really woke me up.

Have fun, I wish I could be there, to hear your presentation and maybe get a chance to meet and talk a little. They call the building there the Lead Conference Center if I remember right.

Larry

 

[NeTree]

Originally posted by Guy Meilleur
Sounds like a no-brainer but most landscrapers don't WANT to get it; the less trees that fail, the less replacement biz they get.

Most landscapers I have dealt with had to "eat" trees that didn't make it; the rest charge for a replacement tree, but have to plant it for free.

 

[Yin]

Well they are going to be here in twenty minutes. A few of the roots arent packed yet . I want them to see the dammage. I've got them plenty moist with a thin cover of loam compost mix. Ill take a few pictures. Hopefully they will do something. The hard pack goes there today :/

 

[Ax-man]

As ticked off as Yin was, I bet he had a hangmans noose all set up and ready to go.

Larry

 

[NeTree]

Maybe I shouldn't have shown him how to tie a running bowline...

 

[Yin]

For Yin's situation, the sand and peat mix would work great. It's easy to handle, stays moist, and is soft for new roots to grow through.

I spent over an hour at my local nursery discussing the red elm with the owner. He strongly suggested that I use a fungus mix with a root accelerater. Ill get the name of the stuff and some more pictures of the repair.

Maybe I shouldn't have shown him how to tie a running bowline...

loL! Hopefully I wont be needing the Running Bowline for this little guy

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by Yin
! Hopefully I wont be needing the Running Bowline for this little guy

You very well may. To be very honest, the wallbuilding project was a disaster. No matter how the footing was dug, they had to get into structural roots. Very Bad Idea, and you get upset about tire tracks on turf???

Stopping runoff was the goal; there were many other options. We advocated mulching this slope and installing groundcover months ago; now we see pitiful little 1' circles around each trunk, with sparse turf in between. You alleged there was a limited landscaping budget before, then you ordered up a wall that must cost $1000+.

Before you blow more $$$ on root stimulant you need an honest look at the stability of that tree. It looks like a hazardous removal from the picture, and this is coming from a diehard preservationist fanatic. Best way to control damage here is to cancel the wall project and landscape responsibly.

imvho

 

[NeTree]

I'll re-extend my offer...

Tony, I'll be out your way Sunday in my estimating travels. I'd be happy to stop by and give you my two cents.