swamp oak tree

[vincent cammisa]

i have a 45 yr old swamp oak tree.3 yrs ago we built up the ground. the outer edge is approx 4 ft from the base and the dirt/mulch is built up about 4-5" going to 0" at the base. the bark of the tree is turning black and is warping on the tree. Is our tree dieing? we do keep it watered.

 

[treeclimber165]

Yup. Root suffocation. Read a few posts on 'exposed roots', 'planting beds under trees', etc. Call your local tree removal expert, if it isn't dead yet it will be.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

IS it swamp red or swamp white....

Anyways, if the bark is peeling off the sapwood, you have a big problem. Like 165 said, raising the grade causes a reduction in gas exchange in the soil. Even if the tree lives by sending out new roots, they wont support the tree well. Ther is a case noted in Harris's "Arboricluture" where a laurel oak lived 30 years after the grade change, but root rot made it such a hazard that it had to be removed. Not cheap when roots are unstable.

Get a consulting arborist to determine if the tree is worth atempting to save.

BTW, some small studies imply that it may be the compaction of the soil while raising the grade that causes the dieback, not the grade change it's self. Pipes and wells were no different then where soil was just piled carfully and not firmed.

Here is the link to one of the above mentioned studies.

http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/hort/sctop/dsec/dsec-05.htm