further questions about Norway Maple and Serviceberry

20 years ago

My husband and I have definitely decided to either remove the Norway Maple in our backyard, or to turn it into a snag. It's trunk diameter isn't really big enough to be very useful (only about a foot) but we thought it would make a nice support for a native climbing rose or virginia creeper, and perhaps provide shelter for smaller cavity nesters. We're concerned though that leaving the tree, even once it's dead, will cause the toxins to persist longer. Since we are planting our serviceberry within about 8ft of the maple, this could be a problem.

Another difficulty I'm having is that the site I selected for the serviceberry is a tangle of roots from the Maple, and very clay-ey. I've been clipping the roots as I dig and had decided to buy a bag of garden soil or compost at the garden store to amend the soil, but I'm taking a break to rethink this and to ask for advice. I don't have a lot of space, but I could probably come up with an alternate spot for the serviceberry if the current site is truly impractical. What do you all think? This may well be a foolish question, but I'm new to gardening and want to make sure I don't make costly mistakes. Any advice?

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Comments (3)

ladyslppr
20 years ago
I do not think that keeping the Norway Maple as a snag will cause toxins to persist longer. Even if you cut the maple you will still leave most of the roots in the ground, so I don't think there is a big difference between cutting and killing it for a snag. I also do not think that the toxins are the biggest problem created by Norway Maples. I think the dense shade and dense, shallow roots are the problem. Once the tree is dead these two problems will disappear. However, the tree will not be dead immediately whether you cut it or snag it. In either case the roots and stump may try to live for a while. Therefore I do not think it is a great idea to plant the serviceberry immediately. Can you wait and plant it later, perhaps in the fall? You probably would want to transplant it to a larger pot for the summer.

I definitely would not dig a hole in clayey soil and amend it with bagged soil. This will create a bowl in the clay, which will fill of water, potentially causing your serviceberry to drown. Even if it lives the serviceberry may never root right because of the difference between the amended soil in the hole and the unamended soil in surrounding the hole. Instead I would plant the bush in the native clayey soil. Many plants will do very well in clay, and your serviceberry is probably one of them.

I would amend all of the soil beneath the existing tree by digging in several inches of leaves, rotted leaves, compost, peat moss, or other organic material into the top 6 or 12 inches. I think the more organic material and the deeper you dig it the better. However, you might not be able to dig because of the tree roots. The alternative is to simply place 6 inches of organic material over the surface and allow nature to work it into the soil - that is how it is done in the forest. I prefer to use fallen leaves for this purpose, but you could use compost or some other organic material if you don't have leaves. If you use leaves, you should place them at least foot deep or more, since they will compress to a depth of 4 or 6 inches after the first couple of rains.

As the leaves rot they will help create a topsoil laver and you can begin to add plants. If you are instead trying to have a lawn you might want to try to loosen the existing soil or import a few inches of soil to allow you to plant grass. If the tree has really shallow roots that are sticking out of the ground, then importing soil will probably work better and certainly will be quicker than removing the roots or waiting for them to rot.
charmed
Original Author
20 years ago
Thanks -- this was very helpful. I'm glad it makes sense to NOT amend the soil! Also, I have lots of bagged leaves in my garden shed, so I'll use those once I've done something with the Norway Maple -- I knew they'd be good for something!
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terryr
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We lived in TN for a while, and I amended the soil with every hole I dug. But I mixed it with the clay. A little of the good stuff with all the clay. I had good luck with all my plantings. So it was still the native soil, just better. Just my experience anyway...

Terry

further questions about Norway Maple and Serviceberry

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ladyslppr

charmed
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further questions about Norway Maple and Serviceberry

Comments (3)

ladyslppr

charmedOriginal Author

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terryr

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charmed
Original Author