Hickory needs help

soares

I am building a paver on pebble patio around a majestic 50 foot (17m) pignut hickory tree, but I dug too deep and too close on advice from two paver 'pros' and three books that apparently know nothing about trees. Trench completely encircles the tree, 8 inch (20cm) deep, 3 feet (1 meter) from the trunk. Four roots of 1.5 to 2 inch diameter (5 to 7.5 cm) diameter were cut, along with some smaller roots. The soil is 18in (45cm) earth on top of 3ft (1m) clay on top of sand. Tree is in full sun, New York, year round rains, 13in breast diameter ( 33cm). I will do anything to reverse my stupidity and save this tree.

My current plan is to treat with 150ml cambistat to stop crown growth and encourage root formation, sink 4 airholes near the trunk, and increase intensity (no freequency) of water and fertilizer.

Tree and owner thank you!

Sean Freeman

Hi soares, I wouldn't be writing the obit for your tree just yet. I don't use cambistat so can't comment on its effectiveness, but here's what I would do;
Back fill the excavated trench with a mixture of old compost and sand, remove the pavers to create a planting circle 4m radius (if you can't create this radius then as large as you can) spread the same compost at about 50mm depth over the top and lightly rake into the paver base (thinking you used sand for that?) ontop of the compost spread a layer of aged forest woodchip again around 50mm thick giving you a total height of 100mm(4") None of the mulch should be allowed to touch the stem of the tree. Water this in with a dilute solution of seaweed extract and fish emulsion. Three days later water again with a solution of raw molasses 2lts in 100lts of water. Repeat the treatments in three weeks time, ensuring the tree is adequately watered inbetween.

If you already have the cambistat and you really want to use it, then go ahead. Just remember if it is effective in reducing foliage growth that will have an impact on the energy levels in the tree, at a time when you really want the tree to be producing an excess of energy for defense maintenance and new growth. New root growth will happen anyway without chemical stimulation, the compost and diluted treatments will provide excellent soil conditions for new root growth and root elongation.

Pavers and tree roots tend not to be the best of friends, indeed the ideal conditions for any construction are the exact opposite of the conditions required for normal healthy growth in any tree, its very important to give and protect as much growing space for the trees we value when we decide to alter the soil environment around our trees.

__________________
Sean

Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky,
We fell them down and turn them into paper,
That we may record our emptiness.
- Kahlil Gibran

Ekka

OK, the tree is 33cm DBH and 17m tall pignut hickory.

Trench at entire circumference 1m away from trunk 20cm deep.

4 structural roots 5cm to 7.5cm dia were cut.

Were they all on one side or evenly all around the tree?
Were they clean cut with a saw or "hacked" off?

This link has some info of the trees tolerance to construction http://snr.osu.edu/const.htm

What I'm not clear on is what else happened, like did you dig away the rest for paving depth? Or did you mound up on top of existing grade?

Some pictures would be real handy here.

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soares

Hello, and thanks for the info.

A picture of the damage is shown here.

I think I need an arborist consultation. What would that cost? A tree trimmer friend of mine told me about US$150.

The cut structural roots were not all on one side, and were cut cleanly with a saw. There is a very large root, about 2X the diameter of the cut roots (3.5 in, or 9cm), that has substantial damage (about half of it is cut). I assume there are a few more like that on other sides that have not been touched.

Attached Images

DamageDone1.JPG (481.7 KB, 17 views)

Sean Freeman

Hello soares, interesting pic, for me it doesn't change the advice replace the removed soil, incorporate compost and spread mulch treat the soil with the diluted solutions and the molasses. To locate certified tree care services and consultants in your area visit here; http://www.treesaregood.com/FindTree...reService.aspx
and follow the step by step directions.

Remember despite having cut some of the roots radiating out from the stem the remaining roots still have a connection with the soil profile beneath, there are no "tap roots" as such but there are numerous sinker roots heading down from the laterals, whilst these remain intact the tree will recover, though any significant root damage always reduces the life span of the tree, and increases its vulnerability to insect and fungal pathogens.

__________________
Sean

Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky,
We fell them down and turn them into paper,
That we may record our emptiness.
- Kahlil Gibran

soares

Hello, and thanks for all the help. I consulted with a local arborist, he told me there is at best even odds of saving the tree due to extensive feeder damage.

Do arborists get summoned as witnesses in lawsuits often? The man would not take my money and was upset that I did not tell him the damage was done by a paver company. He said he was 62 years old and wanted to retire to Florida, and did not want to be summoned back up here in six years to give testimony. He would not treat the tree, would not cut it down, and would not accept payment for the walk-through. I do live in New York, the most litiginous state in the worlds most litiginous nation, but are things really this bad? He said if he was summoned, he would not be paid for his time, and would not be compensated for travel or accommodations. This can't be true?

Sean Freeman

Hi soares, getting an on site assessment was wise, and his 1st hand based opinion is far more useful to you than our electronic versions.

As for lawsuits I really think you have answered your own question there mate.
Good luck with the tree

__________________
Sean

Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky,
We fell them down and turn them into paper,
That we may record our emptiness.
- Kahlil Gibran

Ekka

This is how I see it.

He thinks down the track if the tree stays it may fail or die etc and get blamed for it if he in fact tries to help retain it.

Then on the other hand he may not want to remove it coz he cant/doesn't have the equipment or cant 100% justify it as another arbo might try save it. Then there's an argument as to why he cut it down and he did so coz the paver company did that damage and next thing is you may want to sue the paver company and land him right in the middle of your fight.

So by walking away and not accepting money he has washed his hands of it and given a little free advice.

Not my style though. I'm right out there and would tell it to you the way it is with options either way, retain or remove ... then it's your problem which option you take. I have a client who has an abomination of an ugly tree. when I saw it I recommended removal but she would not have a part of it so I do my best to help the wretched tree live, albeit hazardously. But she knows that and lives with that, however if it did fail it wouldn't do much damage unless you were under it.

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TreeCo

I share the arborist reluctance to get involved. We can't fix every tree that has been damaged and once we get involved we can be held liable. I feel the same way about most hazard tree evaluations.

I feel the tree owner is largely responsible for this damage by asking the contractor to put the walkway were it will damage this tree's roots. The research now being done should have been done before the work was started. I would be willing to bet the homeowner is more educated and financially better off than the contractor doing the paving. I'm not trying to say this lets the contractor off of the hook, but it does raise the question of who was better able to predict the future of this tree before the work was started.

A big Thank You to Soares for bringing his questions to us.

Dan