Would this Kill Ash Trees?

13 years ago

Hello all. New to this forum but not new to GardenWeb.

We have a neglected front yard where the lawn has been settling for the past 30 years. We need to add soil to a depth of 6-8 inches, regrade, and then relandscape.

At the front of the property near the sidewalk are two old ash trees. I'm concerned that if we add this much soil, therefore covering their root system by another 4-6 inches (the regrading will create a gentle slope), that we'll smother the roots and kill the trees. Will we?

As an alternative, we could build a small retaining wall and not build up the area near the trees.

Which would be the better route? The trees are more important than the lawn area.

Thanks for any and all replies.

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Comments (7)

j0nd03
13 years ago
That much soil will definitely put them under stress and most likely lead to an early demise. Could take 1 year could take a few. If they do indeed survive, part(s) of the trees will probably die. Are you in a region that has EAB?

If you want to add soil and keep the trees, I wouldn't go within 20-30 feet of their dripline.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
not to mention the heavy equipment that would be needed to move in that scope of soil ... driving over the roots is just as bad.. add the two together.. yikes

ken
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We don't have EAB here yet, but we do have what are called lilac/ash borers. We have Phaenops gentilis, Chrysophana placida and Agrilus cyanescens. Many non native trees do need help here, but you don't know specifically what to add without a soil test. Unfortunately, they are not free here, but the cost is nominal, maybe $25-30 depending on what you're testing for. I would take soil samples from areas where you haven't fertilized. I just don't see wasting money on additives until you know what's missing from your soil, or what nutrients you already have enough of. I would also be extremely careful with fertilizing right now as we are in severe drought status. If you feel like you need to fertilize before you have soil test results, maybe do half strength. Any problems you're seeing now are most likely drought related as we've had virtually no rain, horrific winds and weeks in the high 90 - 100+ degree temps. We have a 50% chance of rain this weekend, which would certainly help. We've had roughly 4.5" of precip. so far this year. Your soil ph is most likely in the 7 range, as mine is 7.9. I have a Patmore ash, fraxinus pennsylvanica 'Patmore' planted 4-5 years ago and I've not ever fertilized it. It's doing fine. Your ash looks good to me. The native tree choices here are limited which is why we bring in non-natives. FWIW I don't have 10 years experience, just 5, but have planted and killed enough trees that maybe I'm not a newbie anymore, lol. I'm still learning and will be for life. This is a tough place to learn the ropes, but you're doing great. I love your yard! Barb
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Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
13 years ago
I have a favorite example of why this is detrimental to tree health that I drive by about twice a month.

Dan
nutsaboutflowers
Original Author
13 years ago
What you all say makes a lot of sense. I was pretty sure that a lot of soil would be detrimental to the trees.

I took a closer look and walked around a bit and have come up with maybe a better plan.

The property is only about 35 feet deep and 60 feet wide. Most of the sunken parts are closest to the house and the mature trees are near the sidewalk. If we did terracing in three different levels, closest to the house could be about 6 inches. The next level could be about 4, and then within 10 feet of the trees we could get away with covering with only about 2 inches. That way it would probably give the illusion that we had built up more than we actually did.

If you can picture this, do you suppose that would work? Or would it look stupid?

Oh, and that way with far less soil to be brought in, we would only have to have the soil dumped near the edge of the property. We're very good with shovels and wheelbarrows =:)

One more thing. If we terraced, I could put hostas, etc., into the levels and as the years went by and the soil settled, it wouldn't be as noticeable as it is with lawn.

This project can be a 2 or 3 year thing if needed to hopefully get it right.

Would the trees adjust if we added a few inches every year?

Thanks for your input !
nutsaboutflowers
Original Author
13 years ago
For anyone who would be kind enough to look, there's a picture of the type of thing I'm thinking of at the Paragon Landscaping Corp website.

www.paragonlandscapingcorp.com If you look at their portolio, the 10th picture shows the type of thing I'm thinking of.

Sure wish I had that house, too, LOL !

FYI We live in Canada, so there is no association whatsoever between us and the Paragon Landscaping Corp. I just did a google search and found it.
famartin
13 years ago
This is a recipe for disaster, at least as far as the two Ash trees are concerned.

If you *must* regrade and add the soil, have the trees removed first...

If you *must* keep the ash trees, don't go anywhere near them with this project (including the heavy equipment)...
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
anchor the house with retaining wall .... of 5 to 8 feet ... the top span ...... and forget about the other 30 odd feet .... and you will still need to avoid heavy equipment ... and that is a lot of backfill

and you may still harm the trees ...

w/o a picture of your actual site... we cant really be of much specific help ... i am finding it hard to understand how you claim that the site has settled so significantly .. but that the house hasnt crumbled with such settling ... surely something has happened.. but i dont understand from how you describe it ...

ken
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and then.. if you wish.. you can start collecting MINI conifers which grow a couple inches per year...

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Would this Kill Ash Trees?

Comments (7)

j0nd03

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Would this Kill Ash Trees?

Comments (7)

j0nd03

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)

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