ceder tree help?
40 year old tree and very healthy. Sewer line broke infront of it and the city had to excavate and dig through about 1/3 of the roots. They did a real bad job of filling the hole back in, I washed down sand, dirt and some of the smaller rocks to fill the huge void surrounding the roots main ball. Any suggestions of fertilizers or watering I can give this poor tree to help it through this shock? I do not want it to die!
Public Comments
- fill th hole with some composted manure and topsoil mixed and theres a rot growth starter at the store like k-mart called root starter and the stuff starts root developement in plants and cuttins so sprikle it on the side that the roots were exposed then fill thwe hole with the compost ans tamped down topsoil that should kick start the plant to healt h and also give it a gallon of water around it for a week or two unless it rains good luck
- First look through the visual part of the root system and prune off any damaged roots. The tree will put its efforts into repairing the roots instead of supplying the tree with all of its needs.Fill the holes with GOOD soil, a neutral one would be best, Cedars do not like acidity. Keep the new soil moist but not over wet. Do a little pruning, what your objective would be is to equalize the amount of healthy roots to the amount of tree, The roots are the life-force. If you have more tree than healthy roots it will put stress on the tree. Prune as much a possible, the best parts to prune would be over the area of damaged roots. I would not fertilized for at least 3 weeks, the tree needs to re-establish itself not work on new growth. There are products called root stimulants that would be helpful and you can get them at any garden center. Just follow the directions. If your temps are extremely hot you may want to give the tree a "shower" once a week or so. I would also notify the city about your concern so you have it on record if the tree does not survive. I think it will with love and care. However they are ultimately responsible for any loss you might have. Good luck with your cedar....( I have many on my place, love em all!) Grandma
- Try the forums at http://www.suburbangarden.com/ they are geared more toward this type of questions
