Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Tree talk with Treequality
A couple of week’s ago I was able to enlist the assistance of a high school student to help shoot videos for me. Part one of a 2 part series came out last week with my friend and arborist, Faith Appelquist of Treequality.
First up was a sugar maple that has a large long hole in the middle of it.
Through the city I live in, which is redoing my streets next year, I have the opportunity to get a rain garden installed on the city’s dime, but I have this maple tree that would have to go.
Hmmm… while it has that issue, I wanted to be certain that it’s life was short before I decided to have the city remove it. I thought it may have been struck by lightening but Faith pointed out that it was planted poorly. How could she tell? Partly because there is no root flare at the surface of the ground, the oblong decay is a sign and there is signs in the leaves that they’re not getting the nutrients they need. This tree was planted too deep. There’s one root flare, the other roots are girdling.
While I’m happy to be able to get a rain garden, I’m really not happy to see this tree go. This is another HUGE reminder to plant appropriately.
We moved on to my red maple, which I thought was fine but just needed a little pruning. That part’s true but Faith explains what the tree should look like and how to “raise the canopy” so the tall person mowing the lawn isn’t bumping their head every time they run the mower underneath! The good news is you can clearly see the great root flare!
The canopy should be closer to 8 feet up, it’s 5 feet right now! The lower branches are removed over time but at a younger age than mine is, so they’re more manageable. However, they can still be removed but the pruning cut is critical.
It’s important to just past the branch collar and you’ll see what she’s talking about in the video.
The place you make the cut is important in the tree’s ability to heal itself.
Watch the full video for more tips, including how to prune a crabapple to raise it’s canopy!
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