A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Tree Help Please

My neighbor asked my advice about his new landscaping.He is putting in pavers around his trees,about 2 feet high.He wants to fill in that space with soil.I'm thinking that is a bad idea for trees.
Wouldn't that cause bad drainage for the tree.
The trees are oaks.

Can anyone help?

if he puts dirt around his trees it might kill them.he would need to leave a open space between the tree and the dirt. i use flat field stone around mine.he could do that then put his pavers around in a circle then fill it up. this would make a great raised flower bed.if the trees are large it would not afect the drainage as the roots spred out a long ways. thats just my opinion.hope this helps.your friend in garding mike57

I read somewhere too that it could cause insects to get into your trees easier too

The bark that is above the ground differs then the bark which covers the roots on a tree. The bark below the ground is water proof, where the bark above the ground is not. Anything laying up against the tree be it mulch, leaves, wood chips, or soil and if it remains wet, will wind up killing the tree, by rotting the outer bark away and exposing the cambrium, (sp?) (hey it is early in the am and I am still on my 1st cup of coffee), layer.
A very common mistake made when planting trees is to plant them too deep. This is basically doing the same thing.

Mike

Thanks very much.That's a lot of help.

It makes sense too.

Another question,if you don't mind.
When pruning tree limbs.I was told you must put some sealeant(sp)on the cut.
But I think I read somewhere that is not needed.
And might even be a bad thing to do.

duckie

When pruning tree limbs.I was told you must put some sealeant(sp)on the cut.
But I think I read somewhere that is not needed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++==
I think the new school of thought on this is that Sealant can stop the tree from healing by holding in problems such as fungus and preventing the wound from drying out. More important is cutting the limb off in the correct place with clean sharp tools.

I was wanting to put a raised flower bed around a very large pecan tree in my front yard. I found the following from the FAQ page of Oklahoma Gardening

"Question #2: My husband wants to build a flower bed around a river birch, with 3 branches, that is 8 years old. What precautions should we take when building the bed to keep from doing any damage to the tree. The bed will be 14 inches deep. This tree has a lot of sentimental value tome and I don't want to lose it. Thank you for any help you can provide.

Answer: I would strongly recommend against building any bed under an existing tree like that, especially if there is sentimental value. Drastic grade changes such as the one you are proposing are often detrimental to a tree. Roots growing near the surface are responsible for oxygen uptake. By burying them 14 inches you are basically suffocating the roots which often results in death. For further information refer to our fact sheet F-6429 - Site Disturbance and tree Decline. A copy can be obtained from your county extension office or by going on-line at http://agweb.okstate.edu/pearl/hort/ornamental/index.html"

It made me change my mind.

Copperdog

Welcome copperdog,

And thanks for the info.That was really interesting.I love this site.Someone always helps me out.And I learn something new.

I used to live in ok. too.You are sooo lucky to have that pecan tree.I remember, just driving down a country road,you could pick up enough to last you all year.They freeze really well,If ya don't know.

Pecans here cost about 6 dollars a pound. duckie