RE: [gardeners] Sugar maple tree needs help
Seyfried,Alice (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Tue, 7 Jul 1998 15:50:01 -0400
Thanks, Margaret. She put the spikes in on the weekend of May 31. She's
been trying to get ahold of an extension agent, also, but their hours
are very limited (11:00 - 2:00 two or three days a week). She's going
to call again tomorrow. I'll have her ask about the last fertilizer
date. She's also on vacation this week, so getting to the library
should be easy.
Alice
seyfried@oclc.org
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Margaret Lauterbach [SMTP:mlaute@micron.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 1998 3:14 PM
> To: gardeners@globalgarden.com
> Subject: Re: [gardeners] Sugar maple tree needs help
>
> At 02:56 PM 7/7/98 -0400, you wrote:
> >Hi everyone!
> >
> >While the soap operas are truly exciting (I can't wait to hear about
> >Belle's new tatoo), I have a question about my mother's sugar maple.
> >She had it liberally thinned out (not topped - t'would be a horror)
> last
> >year by a professional arborist and now half of it seems to be dying.
> >This tree is at least 40 years old (probably older) and fully matured
> in
> >northern Ohio (zone 5 along the lake). She had it thinned because
> she
> >needed to get more light through it to the yard below. It has always
> >been incredibly healthy (never a fungus or disease). The leaves on
> the
> >back half are all much smaller than the ones on the front half and
> there
> >are very few new side branches on that side, too. She's scared to
> death
> >that they took out too much and is trying to figure out what to do.
> >She's tried calling the arborist back to have them come out and look
> at
> >it, but they are playing telephone tag right now and can't seem to
> get
> >in touch with each other. So I thought I would see if all you
> brilliant
> >people have any ideas. About a month ago, she put Jobe's fertilizer
> >tree spikes all around it following the package directions for
> placement
> >of the spikes. Is there anything else she can do to help this tree
> >recover? Will deep watering help?
> >
> >If anyone has any ideas on how to save this tree, I would be truly
> >thankful. It was the first tree I climbed as a child, it was the
> first
> >tree my 4 year old climbed last year, and I am as much in love with
> it
> >as I am with the house I grew up in.
> >
> >Alice
> >seyfried@oclc.org
> >
> Alice, I would suggest you go to your public library and look at P.P.
> Pirone's Tree Maintenance, pp. 395 to 404 to see the Schindler's List
> of
> what might be happening to the tree. Call your county agent and ask
> what
> is the last date you can safely apply fertilizer to a tree so it will
> approach dormancy in timely fashion. In Southwest Idaho, June 15 is
> the
> last date or else the tree enters dormancy late and is in danger of
> freeze
> damage. If you've already passed the date, dig up the tree spikes.
> Water
> deeply, sure. But make the arborist come back and see what's wrong
> with
> the tree. Good luck, Margaret