Tree Update

We had the arborist back on site to talk about tree health and I want to make an effort to post what we learned.

The beautiful white spruce at the front corner of our property was already a little stressed before we bought the house because of its confined root location. We love the tree though and it still doing ok so we want to make a best effort to keep it.

The arborist said that the needles are thinning out which is a sign of stress (dropping older, less efficient needles). The cones near top are also a sign of distress as this means the tree is trying to move elsewhere (something about selfish genetic evolution). While the pine is leaning, it does not appear to be a structural issue at this point.

The arborist told us a few things that we can do to help the tree recognizing that we won’t really know the fate of the tree for about three years:

(1) ensure it has enough water in the summer; (2) continue to limit the trench size associated with the basement exterior insulation work; (3) the existing boulders are a good thing as they provide stability (roots to intertwine with); (4) protect root system and promote re-growth by trimming back mangled roots because they don’t heal this way and applying beeswax to prevent roots from drying out (check out the photo); (5) when the trench is being backfilled add in bone meal (high phosphorous) alternating with layers of soil to help promote root growth and make sure native soil goes back in with the boulders; (6) tie a rope between the pine and the spruce as a way to tell if the tree is starting to have stability issues; (7) tie back any branches that are near the roof instead of cut them down to help keep the tree canopy balanced.

In terms of all trees, one of the key tree health issues is how compacted the soil is when it goes back in or when you think about construction equipment driving around. The soil can’t be too loose or the roots won’t be able to grab onto anything. The advice we got is to install snow fence around all of the trees. It is a preventative measure and will provide a constant reminder to be careful, in particular for other contractors on site. We recognize that we can not protect out as far as the drip line based on the location of the house. If the ground is compacted too much by the equipment driving over the roots too much (i.e., frequency and weight), it inhibits root growth. On this front, we are going to place wood planks or sheet metal on the ground for the equipment to drive over (especially for work done in the spring when the ground is not frozen)

Thank you to Andrew Boyd of IFS Associates for your advice.