maybe if you quit digging it up every other year or so .. lol ...

where are you

whats the soil type

any reason you cant water it PROPERLY?? .. basically keeping it damp all this year.. w/o drowning it..

can you at least double the mulch ring ... but pull it away from the trunk by an inch??

do you fert the lawn???

ken

I know, it's been roughy for this guy ever since we met.

I'm in St.Louis MO. I'm not exactly sure how to describe my soil but its kind of clayish... Supposedly with a higher pH.

Last year, because of the severe drought I actually kept it pretty well hydrated. I had an arborist over about 4 months ago and he told me to dig down to the root flair, put the mulch around it and then gave me watering instructions and had me trim a branch that could have developed a double leader.

I have no problem making the ring bigger, when the arborist told me to make one I thought I was going big with the one in the pics! There was nothing there before, grass right up to the trunk and I may or may not have hit the trunk with implements once or twice. So I took a shovel and under cut the grass/roots where the mulch is then got rid of the stagglers as well as i could to keep grass at bay. Then poured some humus/manure ontop of the dirt as well as some ironite.

Yes, my yard is treated by a LCO for weed prevention and fertilization of the lawn.

if you fert your lawn .. NEVER FERT THAT TREE AGAIN ...

IMHO.. that would be double dipping.. the tree will get its roots under the lawn.. and get what it needs ... [and that has nothing to do with iron or anything else an oak might need in clay.. thats a soil amendment.. not a fert] .....

i dont understand.. why he told you to expose the root flare.. and then you dumped more soil there???? .. the root flare should be at ground level ...

regardless.. with oak.. ignore it for 10 years.. but for watering for another year or two to get it well established .. and in 10 years.. it will be 20 feet tall ... at a min ...

they simply do not 'appear' to ever grow.. but they do ... once they get a root mass down.. presuming you dont keep digging it up .. lol .. i like to say.. a tree is twice as big below ground as above.. so after transplant.. it takes a few years.. to grow that root mass as big as the tree above ... so that the tree can start growing like the weeds they are ...

i mow the lawn with a rider .. the mulch ring would be at least 3 to 5 feet .. cant slow down or anything like that.. lol ... the mulch also retards evaporation.. keeps the soil cooler [which trees like] .. and more friable.. relatively speaking [looser] .... no downside to bigger ... and.. you can plant a few small annuals in the mulch ring for a spice of color ... presuming you can do that with a handle trowel and not disturb the roots of the tree to any great extent ... [and with a trowel.. i wouldnt even give it a second thought]

patience is a virtue .. and dont love it to death ....

ken

I didn't explain the process I went through after the arborist visited properly.

I exposed the root flair but did not cover it back up with dirt, only mulch.

Over the previous years at this house I did keep the lawn hydrated by watering. I know its not usually the deep type of watering trees like but I for some reason just cannot grasp the idea of watering for 30 min in one spot. I'm more of a few hour per spot waterer with sprinklers that produce large drops of water and broadcast to a small-mid sized area.

Id probably replant this guy with a new tree but to me it's symbolic and if I cant keep it alive I feel superstitious that something negative could befall my marriage. Not really but i'm stubborn too!

Just measured, the mulch is about 32" in diameter, should i increase it to ~60"?

Also here are some shots from around my house. Pin Oaks love it here. There is one in the neighborhood suffering severely from chlorosis but thats the only one.

Id say these trees are all 20-23 years old and the tallest one being 50' tall.

Across the street.
{{gwi:332781}}

Couple houses down the street (not 100% it's a Pin...).
{{gwi:332782}}

That's the side of my house on the right so this beauty is in my backyard to some extent.
{{gwi:332783}}

Here is the subdivision across from mine where they were much more liberal with the use of Oaks/Maples in comparison to my subd where there are some but lots of Cleveland/Bradford pears that are getting close to the end of their aesthetically useful and safe life.

{{gwi:332784}}

{{gwi:332785}}

And just for grinns, this is the house I grew up in. These Pin Oaks were planted when I was ~5 years old or roughly 25 years ago, and IMO they look darn good!

{{gwi:332786}}

{{gwi:332787}}

{{gwi:332788}}

bsmith,
At this time concentrate on keeping the tree alive. The rest can be sorted out later. Plus if it's already survive the first summer in drought, IMHO the worst is over IF you continue to care for it. Agree with Ken. Lawn is fertilized, then don't fertilize it. Also I would not let the Lawn Care company use weed killers around it for the next few years. Some of those can actually make it to the roots to be taken up and stunt or poison the tree. Have seen my neighbors do it several times even with me telling them how to avoid it when they ask. Then they turn around and do the same thing and wonder why their trees look funny.

Assuming the survives, then you are a good starting point to shape it in the future. It will also grow much faster than you expect.

Otherwise, you just have to wait.

Arktrees

local observation is perfect.. obviously.. those trees indicate your native soil is just fine.. forget about amendments.. pH stuff.. etc ...

i took your pic to look like the mulch was about 18 inches wide.. plus 30" is fine ... perhaps next time.. throw in a scale.. like a yard stick or something ...

it was a gift.. wedding no less .... you cant replace it ... [though i note the subliminal error of calling it a weeding present.. OMG!!! .. lol .. better edit your post before spousey sees that.. lol]

as to water.. once a month in summer.. drag the hose out there.. put it on a trickle.. and leave it go for an hour..

NO ONE recommends establishing a tree by broadcasting water on grass ... water deep and long.. with near drying in between ... besides ... in a half hour.. with a sprinkler.. you would be lucky to wet the mulch on top.. let alone the soil below ... you need to insure dampness.. thru the entire spread of the root zone you planted .. and you cant do that with a sprinkler ...

ken

Kinda what I was thinking. If its survived this long through all its been through actually taking care of it should net good results.

Is there any chance that this tree being a dwarf practically, won't grow properly or won't have full potential to be an impressive specimen one day? It was in a 2-3 gallon bucket when I got it ~6.5 years ago and was maybe .5" in diameter and a couple feet tall. Now after all this time the trunk is maybe 1.5" at its thickest and its no more than 3' tall (though I did trim a 18" branch that the arborist told me to clip that could have created leader issues down the road.

your repeated digging has made it a bonsai .. which it will outgrow..

i doubt its a dwarf ... possible.. but odds are infinitesimal.. IMHO ...

ken

I understand, it's pretty impossible to know for sure.

But if the consensus would have been that it would never grow beyond maybe 30' or something I was actually contemplating trying to make it an outdoor mini/Bonsai Oak if that's even possible! :)

Six months later I'm happy to report that this little Oak seems to be doing great!

{{gwi:332789}}

{{gwi:332790}}

The only area of concern is the damage I caused on the trunk being careless with the mower/trimmer. What should I do about this?

{{gwi:332791}}

Pin oaks can be overplanted in some areas, but I still love the form -- unique. Had to include at least one on my lot.

Buddy of mine planted one in the early 70s. It didn't put out any leaves the first yr! (but was still green under the bark) He decided to wait, & it recovered the next yr. Now it's 70 ft tall & over 2' in diameter.

That's a bad trunk wound, but unless it gets damaged again, should recover.