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Re: [PRIMROSES] Dealing With Tree Roots

Michael D. Cook wrote:
>
> Hi; I have read that raising a bed around the base of a tree will cause the
> trunk to hold moisture, making it more susceptible to disease.  Yet I see
> many of my neighbors have raised beds which cover about a foot of the trunk
> and their trees appear healthy (all trees I can recall in these beds are
> maples).  All beds have plants with roots that compete well with tree roots
> (such as hostas and annuals).
>
> Is disease a problem with certain tree species, with others being able to
> tolerate having their trunks in moist soil (like swamp trees can), or is it
> just that it takes many years for the damage to the tree to show?  I am
> interested to know, as this fall I heaped compost and soil at the base of
> an old ash tree - not covering the trunk, but covering many large,
> above-the-surface , 'barked' roots - as I plan to install primrose sweep
> after the plants have flowered this spring.
>
> Sheila S.
> Z 5/6

There is a local arborist here that did his internship at Kew Gardens (I
hold him in very high esteem for that little ditty alone).
He explained that the cellular structure of trunk tissue is water
permeable, whereas root tissue is not as much so.  If a trunk is buried
in wet soil, organisms and water will break down the cell structure and
the tree will suffer.
This may take years to effect the tree, but eventually, the trunk rots.
Beware those windy nights, when your neighbors trees sways upwind of
your house....

The Greenhouse
81 S. Bagley Creek Road & Hwy 101
Port Angeles, WA  98362
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