You know how important the soil around your tree is. It's where your tree gets water, oxygen, and nutrients. But if the soil around your tree has been compacted after machinery rolled through your yard during construction or just years of stomping feet, your tree may not be getting the nutrients it needs.
Our root rehabilitation service can breathe new life into soil and work wonders on your tree. If your trees seem to be struggling, the time to schedule root rehabilitation is now!
It's not uncommon for urban trees to experience soil compaction — it's a top urban stressor according to research from the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. Here's how soil compaction can affect your trees:
- Surface water can't penetrate overly compacted soil, so your tree may become drought-stressed more easily.
- Most soil nutrients are water soluble. Since roots can't absorb as much water in compacted soil, your tree may not get all the nutrients it needs.
- Oxygen can't reach tree roots in overly compacted soil. Roots need oxygen to live and grow, so this can cause root decline and root death.
- Your tree needs to produce new roots to promote above-ground growth, but new roots can't penetrate overly compacted soil very easily.
If it's hard for you to stick a screwdriver into the soil, it's probably compacted.
Luckily, we offer a service in Concord, NC that can help called root rehabilitation. The first step is to schedule a consultation with our plant health care specialist. That way, we can determine the full scope of your tree's health issues.
Then, we can figure out which of our two root rehabilitation options is best for your trees, if needed.
Here's a closer look at those options:
Basic:
If our plant health care expert decides that a basic root rehabilitation service is what your trees need, we'll start by aerating the soil 8 inches deep. Most of a tree's fine absorptive roots live around this depth.
The aeration process restores pore space in the soil, which can then fill with air and water. Decreased soil density will also make it easier for new roots to grow. Our specialized aeration equipment uses compressed air to get the job done without damaging existing tree roots.
After aeration, we'll spread a 3-inch layer of hardwood mulch around your trees. The mulch will moderate soil temperature, conserve moisture, and reduce and prevent soil compaction. It will also suppress competition and release essential nutrients over time as it decomposes.
Extreme:
If your trees need a little extra help, our plant health care specialist may decide to go with extreme root rehabilitation. We'll start by applying a premium compost/biochar mix on top of the soil around your trees. This mix adds organic matter to the soil and boosts its nutrient holding capacity and porosity.
The compost/biochar mix will also increase soil aggregation. Soil aggregates are the clumps of soil you see when you grab a handful of dirt. Good soil aggregation means healthy soil.
Next, we'll aerate the soil to a depth of 8 inches while mixing in the compost/biochar. Finally, we'll lay down a 3-inch layer of hardwood mulch around the trees.
Mulch bed installation with amendment:
We also offer an aeration-free option with our mulch bed installation with amendment service. For this service, we'll just spread the compost/biochar mix on top of the existing soil and then follow it up with a 3-inch layer of hardwood mulch.
This method works slower than the two above, but according to peer-reviewed research, it's one of the most cost-effective treatments for improving the health of trees in urban environments.
Misapplication of mulch can cause more harm than good, so even if you decide to do this yourself, it's still best to consult a plant health care expert.
The best time to schedule root rehabilitation services in Concord, NC is between November and March when the weather is cooler and trees don't need as much water. Also, soil typically has the right moisture content during this time of year, which allows for better aeration.
Root rehabilitation may be just what your trees need to flourish. Schedule a consultation with our plant health care specialist today!
