Artistic Arborist, Inc. - Complete Tree Health Management

(602) 263-8889










 

Planting Depth

The most common problem with landscape trees in the Phoenix area is excess soil from planting too deeply or from a change of grade, where soil is piled up around the base of the trunk. The trouble is that the symptoms do not always appear until years after the faulty tree planting was done. The sickness is rarely immediate. Some trees can tolerate deep planting, others can't. The problems sometimes don't occur until there is a leaky drip emitter running continuously at the base of the deeply planted tree and when root rot, from Phytophthora or some other disease sets in. Excess root zone soil creates a lack of oxygen to the roots, that is known as hypoxia, which is a gradual problem. The complete absence of oxygen, termed anaerobic, leads to a rapid decline. The above-ground symptoms are yellowing of leaves that gradually drop off and eventual scorching and death of limbs. These symptoms become more severe in summer because root loss cannot support the water uptake the trees require. Many folks respond by giving their trees more water which leads to rapid decline.

Fortunately, many of these trees can be saved by a simple root zone excavation (shown above).  Simply excavate the soil down to the root flare and out 2-5 feet soil the roots can get air. However, once the excess soil around the base of the tree is removed it must stay that way. With luck the tree will survive and recover within one year.

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