problem #2? Root ball too high?

grilling24x7

I figured I'd start another thread in hopes of getting some more comments.

In another thread that I posted yesterday I state that my new American Elm tree has has wilting leaf issues that I believe are the result of transport/planting stress.

In the process of figuring this out I accidentally overwatered the tree with the use of a [gasp] tree-gator tree watering bag. Apparently the watering bag has SOAKED THE HECK out of one side of my backfilled dirt to the extent that it moves like jelly when pressed. In my picture, I drew a green circle over the area that is sopping wet.

I scraped away the mulch to let the hot sun help dry this mess out. In the process of scraping away the mulch I now notice that my root ball is about 3-4 inchs (~10 cm) above the backfilled dirt. I believe that the dirt has settled significantly because of the oversoaking. This is shown in my picture attached with the little orange line.

Any thoughts on this? Is my root ball too high now b/c of the settling soil? Should I scrape up all of the mulch and perhaps add some more soil on top?

Thanks so much.
John


oh and in case anyone is wondering - the horrendous white fence is just to keep my two cocker spaniels from peeing on my new tree!

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Eric Frei

Get rid of that grass and mounding is a method of planting on poorly drained soils to prevent trees sitting in a well or bog.

Toward the bottom of the page in this link it sort of explain, so make a wider slightly domed mound.

Planting Trees and Shrubs

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Victor Lindsay

Planting hole - Planting - Landscape plants - Edward F. Gilman - UF/IFAS
Planting - Landscape plants - Edward F. Gilman - UF/IFAS

Above are two additional sites.

grilling24x7

So you think I need to add some more topsoil to make a higher and slightly wider mound of dirt to compensate for the high root ball?

Ok- I'll see what I can come up with this afternoon.

Sadly, I did follow various internet/nursery instructions. I dug a hole 3x the width of the root ball and almost as deep as the root ball. I specifically read to keep the top of the root ball slightly above ground. Now for some reason it seems exaggerated.

I'll remove the mulch, add enough topsoil to make the mound even with the top of the root ball and then re-mulch.

Thanks!

John

TreeSpecialist

Too much of a good thing is almost always harmful.

The root ball being high is actually great. More folks should plant the tree 2 to 3 inches too high. Most trees will settle after planting resulting in a tree buried too deep.

Planting specifications are now recommending planting the tree above grade.

The "gator bag" is interesting but as you noted, it only watered one spot. This would indicate a well drained soil. Soak the entire root ball and a 3 foot ring (radius) outside the root ball as well.

Then let it dry. Use the moisture meter you were born with to judge when it needs water again - push your index finger into the soil - if its dry up to the 3rd knuckle, water the tree.

Remember that the root ball will dry out 5 times faster than the surrounding soil so check the root ball's moisture and cover the ball with 2 inches of mulch to keep it from drying out too fast.

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grilling24x7

Thanks for your reply. I think I have the situation under control now. I scraped away the mulch and gave it a few days to dry a bit. Then I added some topsoil and remulched. Even after all of this, I still am a few inches above ground. So that's good!

It's been raining here most of the week, so I haven't had to water. I'll stick my finger in there this weekend!

Things are looking good!