My sad tree stories & diseased? roots left behind
The photo is of my home when I bought it in 2008. After spending thousands on maintenance and finally felling, there is not a tree left in the front yard. The roots from the two 20-inch diameter Bald Cypress trees broke Harold-Next-Door's sewer line for the third time, was raising my driveway in several places, snaking along my foundation and headed for Harold's foundation. There were dozens of knees scattered throughout both our yards. A certified arborist came and advised cutting them down as the only possible solution to avoid further damage. Severing the roots or building a root barrier was not helpful. I was surprised to see one of them showed soft fungus sawdust looking stuff in the trunk burl? knee? - a very large - say 18" x 22" bump that formed part of the trunk. (last photo)
The Water Oak and the two Sweetgum trees kept dropping fully leaved healthy looking branches - one as large as 6" diameter - even after I had them professionally trimmed and cleaned up several times. When they were felled at various times over the past five of my nine years of ownership, I saw the same sawdusty fungus looking stuff.
A giant Red Oak in the back yard was the first to be felled, after trimming several times did not stop the decline. Photo shows the extent of its rotten inside. Smelled awful. Mushrooms still grow that are disgusting and become infested with maggots. Hot water with Dawn detergent is lessening the problem a little.
So now I want to plant a few trees in the front. Perhaps a small Magnolia, or small Maple, perhaps a Redbud, or a few Crape Myrtles. Even though the dogwood is not recommended for Zone 9, we have vast numbers of Red Dogwood in the surrounding neighborhoods and one next door.
All six of the stumps have been ground down - only one Sweetgum root is showing suckers and I will drill and pour salted boiling water on that root or have it dug up - and the hatcheted away Bald Cypress roots and knees have stopped growing. Haven't they????
So what is the danger / likelihood of newly planted trees picking up the fungus rot whatever it was from the roots of the old front yard trees? Or from the soil? My neighbors still have all their trees and they seem healthy, so what could have caused my trees such a plague?
Comments (12)
Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
6 years ago
Dona Goodwin (Houston TX Z9)
6 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (8)Jackie, Soil steaming is done by using special equipment, a bit like the steam cleaners used for household cleaning but larger. Has to be done by professionals. Soil solarization is done by covering damp soil for an extended period (1 to 3 months) with transparent polyethelene sheets. Again if you want to go that way you should seek local expert advice. Both techniques increase soil temperature enough to sterilize it to adequate depth. The particular bacterium is killed if exposed to a temp of approx 60C/140F for an hour. One can lower this time by using a higher temp or deploy a somewhat lower temp and increase the exposure time. You get the additional benefit of getting rid of weeds for a period. Both these methods are commonly used in commercial cultivation, usually under glass. PS. For a limited area boiled water might do the trick. But I don't know it for a fact and I can't find references. You will need to maintain the heat for some time. Check with a local expert. PS2. All above methods will destroy the roots of plants so if other plants are nearby, much thought must be given before deploying them. Again, seek the advice of a local expert. PS3 People have been known to use charcoal fire heat for soil sterilization. The problem with this is that the intense heat may have permanent effects on soil chemical composition plus the heat might not reach adequate depth. Not recommended. Nik Here is a link that might be useful: Soil solarization This post was edited by nikthegreek on Sat, Jan 25, 14 at 0:59...See MoreTwo sad stories in real life
Comments (14)I have lived with both a hoarder and an OC cleaner. My mom is obsessive about cleaning. My folks' house is like a museum. I have seen her take the plate out from under my son's fork while he is still eating. There is not a newspaper out of place or a spec of dust in their house - EVER. It is exhausting for me to visit for the weekend. You just can't relax at their house and it is a house, not a home. My mom worked FT while raising 2 kids in this environment. My exhusband is a hoarder - not jus messy but a true OCD hoarder like you'd see on tv. I lived with that for 23 years. I will take OCD clean over OCD hoarding any day! Bottom line is - both are uncomfortable to live with. I have a little more than a healthy amount of clutter right now and am working steadily to reduce it. I have gotten rid of 100s of pounds of clutter since DH moved out. I will never attain the level of spotlessness of my mom but that's ok. I do dream of the day my kids are grown and off on their own and I can move to a teeny tiny house and own almost nothing. Other people dream of retiring to FL in style. I dream of retiring to the mountains to live in a Spartin cabin!...See MoreFallen oak trees with no tap root. Disease? Rot?
Comments (15)Tom, I'm just making some assumptions here but this is my take: lots of these chainsaw-happy folks are new homeowners (or new to suburbia) and unfamiliar with either landscaping or gardening at all and are not, as you say, tree-savvy. And they have read or been told all those horror stories about large trees on their property - they will fall and destroy the house (not necessarily true), their roots will invade and damage the foundation (also not necessarily true and far less common a situation than one would imagine) and you can't grow anything under them or even in close proximity (again, not necessarily true). They consider this and determine the only viable course of action is removal. Out come the chainsaws!! Of course, the more reasonable alternative is that after purchasing a new home, they have visions for the landscape/garden that don't include a heavy population of trees. But that doesn't exactly jive completely with the wholesale removal of anything on their property that grows taller than 10'. I think some folks are just plain scared of large trees. Period. If that's the case, do not move to the more suburban or rural areas of the PNW - big trees (and I mean BIG) are extremely common in virtually any garden. And depending on area, removal during the construction phase is done only by permit, is closely monitored and in some cases, removal of any existing native trees must be followed up with a suitable replacement....See MoreWill a shoot from a removed tree roots be a good tree?
Comments (5)Many trees gdow from suckers. It looks like the sucker is clear of the rotting trunk so I think you will be fine. Cottonwood grows from cuttings also btw. As far as the lean, if it is leaning towards the sun it may really want to grow that way. Either way with a potentially huge tree like Cottonwood I would try to prune it reasonably straight....See MoreDona Goodwin (Houston TX Z9)
6 years agobossyvossy
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Smivies (Ontario - 5b)