Re: Oak

At 04:39 PM 1/13/00 +0100, Niccolo' Segato wrote:
I don't exactly know if this is the right place to ask a question, I don't have much familiarity wih internet-surfing. Anyway I'll give it a try.
My father has restored a house in the umbrian countryside. During the restoration works, a big oak (Quercus robur) has been covered by 1.5 meters of clayey earth -or better, its trunk has been covered for 1,5m- and has been left in this condition for the last 3 years, because the new assessment of the garden was thought to be higher than before. Can this be cause of suffering or even death for the plant? I ask you because until now I didn't get a satisfying answer and I'm worried because I've read that oaks' roots need a high degree of ventilation and oxygen.
Excusing myself for the bother I possibly could have caused - and for my imperfect english- I thank you for the time you shall dedicate to me.

Sincerely,
Niccolo' Segato, Via di Villa Zingone, 11. 00151 ROMA

Niccolo -

This is a very good place to ask such a question - I am glad you thought to ask here.  I suppose you found our web page on Oaks and in this way found our e-mail address?

Oaks, or even most trees, should never be buried deeper than the original level of the soil, especially if they are already mature.  In spite of this, this type of regrading around trees is very common here in California as well.  For Oaks, at best the tree will go into a sort of suspended animation and probably not grow significantly for many years.  At worst, the tree will eventually start to decline - when this is noticed it will probably be too late to do anything about it.  In order to save the tree from either of these fates, the original ground level needs to be reestablished.  What you need is a local expert to address this issue.  I would suggest contacting the Mediterranean Garden Society who can possibly help you find someone in your area.  I am also sending this to the mediterranean climate gardening e-mail forum - there may be subscribers in your area who can be helpful (we have a number who live in Italy).  You may get responses on this topic from people in either of those areas.

I applaud your foresight to investigate this problem now - 3 years is likely a short enough time that nothing has happened yet, especially if the new soil grade remains dry most of the time.  I hope you have good success in figuring out what needs to be done.  If I can personally help in any other way, please don't hesitate to ask.

Regards,
Sean O.

BTW - your English was just great.  I wish my Italian was even just 'poor' - but that can only be said of my French!  ;-)


Sean A. O'Hara                       sean.ohara@groupmail.com
h o r t u l u s   a p t u s          710 Jean Street
'a garden suited to its purpose'     Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ask me about the worldwide Mediterranean gardening discussion group
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index