A good question came in this week I wanted to share with you along with my answer to try to solve their problem.
Q: We have a question about a tree that we transplanted from a farm to our front yard 2 summers ago (it is probably 15 feet tall). It is a maple tree that seemed to do fine last year. This year we had one of those plastic bases that contain mulch and then weeds won’t grow up in the mulch. I put quite a layer of bark mulch in the tray at the base of the maple tree and I don’t know if that contributed to it or not, but all of the leaves have shriveled up and it looks like it is pretty much dead. We thought that maybe the black plastic ring with mulch was too hot for the roots and might have caused it to die. We have underground sprinkling so it has been receiving water. Our other maple tree that we had transplanted seems to be doing fine. Do you have any ideas for what might have caused the leaves to brown and shrivel up and is there anything we can do to save it now?
Kimberly K., Byron Center, MI
A: I have never seen one of these mulch rings before so I’ll do my best to answer you. One big problem I see with some homeowners mulching their trees is they put huge piles of bark or grass clippings right against the trunk of the tree. This can cause the bark on the lower part of the tree to rot from being in a consistently moist environment. Once that bark is rotted, and the tree is “girdled,” the tree roots will not be able to send water up to the leaves. Pull off the mulch ring and examine the bark to see if it was resting directly against the tree trunk. I don’t believe the color of the black plastic ring was an issue but it is possible there was a chemical on the mulch that was harmful to the tree. (Was it made in China?)
We have also had some long, hot, dry weather that may have caused the tree to simply dry out. Maybe the stressed tree is in full sun and on a slope where the water would run off and the healthy tree is in a low area in the shade. Watering is a tricky thing. Underground sprinkling for lawns is not sufficient for watering trees. Trees need a lot more water than grass. If you think this might be a possibility, lay a hose on the top of the root ball and let the water trickle slowly into the root zone for an hour. Do this 2 times/week and see if the tree pushes new leaves.
