help with evergreen

[mrniceguy]

Hello to all!

I have a small problem. In my front yard(full sun), I have a 80 ft. evergreen. Every ear about this time, the grass around the tree dies. The dead grass extends out as far as the tree limbs spead, about 10 ft. in all directions. I try to keep the area well watered, but it is not working. The area is completely free of dead needles. Is this a water issue? One of my neighbors told me it may a alkaline/acid soil issue. Would adding lime help with this problem?
Thanks in advance! Joe.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Anything you do to help the grass, will hurt the tree.
Why not spread some decorative chips and leave the needle where they fall to feed the tree?

 

[JeffE]

Adding lime would be likely to cause the rapid decline of your conifer. I second Mike's suggestion - put mulch under the tree, preferably something acidic like pine bark or pine straw. If you have sprinkler irrigation, try to aim it away from the tree's primary root zone.

 

[Ekka]

You can either buy a cheap PH test kit or take a soil sample from about 4" deep to a local nursery and they usually PH test it for free.

Addition of lime will make the soil more alkaline (PH goes up) and is a temporary measure in most cases. But that's not much good if the soil is already alkaline or just right.

The tree may be shading out some of the lawn, sucking away some water and nutrients, preventing some of the rain hitting the ground beneath due to the canopy, the water that does come down from the canopy of the tree may be leaching pollutants and substances that slow or prevent growth of the lawn and fallen leaves etc may do the same. I've put a bit of a explanation of that here ...

... Allelopathy involves a plant's secretion of biochemical materials into the environment to inhibit germination or growth of surrounding vegetation. Allelopathy enhances tree survival and reproduction. Some plants that produce allelochemicals can be used in production as cover crops to control weeds. Allelochemicals are metabolic by-products of certain plants that, when introduced into the environment, cause growth inhibition by affecting physiological processes such as respiration, cell division, and water and nutrient uptake.

Not knowing what type of tree it is makes it hard for us to assess the Allelopathic nature of the tree.

The best solution as offered above is to forget the lawn and create a mulch area. Do you think that's viable?

Could you post some pics so we can have a look, some close ups of the tree foliage for ID etc.

 

[mrniceguy]

Thanks to everyone! I will try to post pictures. What is the scoop on SWEET PEET? This stuff has a fertilizer in it..right? Would this product be a benefit?? I can easily get bagged pine bark at my local hardware or nursery store. Thanks again and ill try to get those pictures out! Joe.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Sweet Peet is composted horse manure, what we arborists call compost. Good stuff.
No big commercial farm lets their manure go to waste, there's gold in them thar' hills.