Download Can You Identify the Maintenance Issue?

Can You Identify the
Maintenance Issue?
Plant Material Maintenance
Problem #1
Problem #1
Problem #1: Planting depth; tree
planted too deep.
An older tree, planted at the correct
depth, should show some root flare.
see Morton Arboretum
Lacebark Elm
Problem #2
Problem #2: Two different plants
planted too close together!
Problem #3
Problem #3
Problem #3: When the retaining wall was
constructed, soil was dumped around the
base of the tree. This will reduce oxygen
availability to the root system and may also
cause the trunk to rot.
or
The limestone base under the front walk
may slowly be raising the soil pH and
causing a severe iron chlorosis problem.
River Birch is very sensitive to iron
chlorosis.
Problem #4
Problem #4: Wrong tree in the
wrong place; this now mature
White Pine is too large a tree for a
small, residential lot.
Problem #5
Problem #5: Circling roots; when this
tree was planted the “circling roots”
issue was never addressed. Now that
the tree has grown those roots have
also increased in diameter and are
girdling the trunk. This is especially a
problem if the tree was grown in a
hard, plastic container.
Problem #6
Green Ash
Problem #6: Frost cracks; common
on certain species of tree they can
provide an entry point for diseasecausing organisms; typically occur
on the south-southwest side of the
trunk.
Problem #7
Crabapple
Problem #7: Apple Scab; this fungal
disease causes early defoliation.
Problem #8
Problem #8: Fertilizer burn on a
lawn; fertilizers are salts and their
over-application can burn a lawn
or tender plant.
Problem #9
Green Ash
Douglas-fir
Problem #9: Freezing temperatures;
this new growth was damaged by
freezing temperatures.
Problem #10
Problem #10: Root suckers;
Crabapples seem to produce a lot
of root suckers and if the
Crabapple was grafted the suckers
may have different colored leaves
than the rest of the plant.
End