Austin Gardening - Ping Treedweller

Author

Ping Treedweller

Justin Wilson

2006-12-19, 3:25 am

First, thanks for your thoughtful and helpful posts on this group. Great to
hear from you.

Second, a question, I live in the North SA area, and had a Texas Red Oak
planted in my yard about four years ago. Although it is always healthy, it
has not grown much at all in four years. I did as much research as I could
to ensure I had a Texas and not a Shumard, and I'm pretty sure it's a Texas.
And, I got it from a great nursery in my area.

My thought is that we put it in an area of too much rock and the roots can't
grow. There are no roots coming up to or above the top soil, however. I'd
drenched the area a few times with Medina Soil activator and Hasta Grow, but
not much difference.

Any thoughts on this?
Thanks~!

Treedweller

2006-12-20, 5:25 pm

On Tue, 19 Dec 2006 04:24:03 GMT, "Justin Wilson" <lTw@msn.com> wrote:

>First, thanks for your thoughtful and helpful posts on this group. Great to
>hear from you.
>
>Second, a question, I live in the North SA area, and had a Texas Red Oak
>planted in my yard about four years ago. Although it is always healthy, it
>has not grown much at all in four years. I did as much research as I could
>to ensure I had a Texas and not a Shumard, and I'm pretty sure it's a Texas.
>And, I got it from a great nursery in my area.
>
>My thought is that we put it in an area of too much rock and the roots can't
>grow. There are no roots coming up to or above the top soil, however. I'd
>drenched the area a few times with Medina Soil activator and Hasta Grow, but
>not much difference.
>
>Any thoughts on this?
>Thanks~!
>
If you have a Q. texana (aka Q buckleyi), it is not likely to be a
fast grower. Interesting to note about this species is that it tends
to have problems late in life, especially if it is treated badly.
Moreso than most trees, Q. texana needs to retain inner foliage that
some might incorrectly call "suckers." Similarly, the tree tends to
have multiple trunks. One stem may break or die, but the root system
will live on through other stalks. Bear this in mind, too, as the
tree ages.

I doubt your soil is a problem: that's what most of the ones I see
around Austin are in. Also, depending on how big the tree was
originally, it may still be adapting to the native site. The bigger a
transplant, the longer it takes. Now that you've done some
fertilizing, lay off awhile to see what happens. Too much fertilizer
is frequently worse than not enough.

The tree should be mulched, preferably with organic material like wood
chips or bark mulch. Learn how at www.treesaregood.com

The biggies to watch out for with any transplant are water and root
crown exposure. Watering deeply during droughts is important, but
allowing soil to dry between waterings is also important (twice- or
thrice-a-week cycles on the grass' sprinkler system are not the way to
go). The root crown (where the base of the tree starts to flare
outward) should be visible above the soil and any mulch that is there.
Sometimes, this means it should be planted higher than the top of the
pot it came in. Even good nurseries are often dealing with suppliers
that slowly raise the soil level each time they repot into bigger
containers. If you have the native tree, we're talking about a
specialty nursery and maybe they do a good job. Just look at the tree
trunks and remove excess soil if the flares are not visible.

A final red flag: you mention topsoil. If that's just what you call
the top few inches of soil, fine. If this is a recent lot development
where a bunch of sandy loam ("topsoil") was spread over the existing
soil to facilitate laying sod, there could be a number of problems
related to this. At the Web site above, click on the brochures about
construction damage to learn more.

Probably all is fine. You made an effort to find the right plant and
worked with a good nursery. They should have helped get the rest
right. If the tree looks healthy after four years, it's probably just
a matter of patience.

good luck,
Keith

Justin Wilson

2007-01-06, 8:39 pm

THANKS Keith - great info!

"Treedweller" <keith@aroma-massage.com> wrote in message
news:egcjo25p1am8odqlm4qam711pneds71u59@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 19 Dec 2006 04:24:03 GMT, "Justin Wilson" <lTw@msn.com> wrote:
>
> If you have a Q. texana (aka Q buckleyi), it is not likely to be a
> fast grower. Interesting to note about this species is that it tends
> to have problems late in life, especially if it is treated badly.
> Moreso than most trees, Q. texana needs to retain inner foliage that
> some might incorrectly call "suckers." Similarly, the tree tends to
> have multiple trunks. One stem may break or die, but the root system
> will live on through other stalks. Bear this in mind, too, as the
> tree ages.
>
> I doubt your soil is a problem: that's what most of the ones I see
> around Austin are in. Also, depending on how big the tree was
> originally, it may still be adapting to the native site. The bigger a
> transplant, the longer it takes. Now that you've done some
> fertilizing, lay off awhile to see what happens. Too much fertilizer
> is frequently worse than not enough.
>
> The tree should be mulched, preferably with organic material like wood
> chips or bark mulch. Learn how at www.treesaregood.com
>
> The biggies to watch out for with any transplant are water and root
> crown exposure. Watering deeply during droughts is important, but
> allowing soil to dry between waterings is also important (twice- or
> thrice-a-week cycles on the grass' sprinkler system are not the way to
> go). The root crown (where the base of the tree starts to flare
> outward) should be visible above the soil and any mulch that is there.
> Sometimes, this means it should be planted higher than the top of the
> pot it came in. Even good nurseries are often dealing with suppliers
> that slowly raise the soil level each time they repot into bigger
> containers. If you have the native tree, we're talking about a
> specialty nursery and maybe they do a good job. Just look at the tree
> trunks and remove excess soil if the flares are not visible.
>
> A final red flag: you mention topsoil. If that's just what you call
> the top few inches of soil, fine. If this is a recent lot development
> where a bunch of sandy loam ("topsoil") was spread over the existing
> soil to facilitate laying sod, there could be a number of problems
> related to this. At the Web site above, click on the brochures about
> construction damage to learn more.
>
> Probably all is fine. You made an effort to find the right plant and
> worked with a good nursery. They should have helped get the rest
> right. If the tree looks healthy after four years, it's probably just
> a matter of patience.
>
> good luck,
> Keith

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