Maintaining My American Beech Tree Grove
It's so important to keep up with the maintenance and care of the many trees here at my Bedford, New York farm. My grove of American beech trees, Fagus grandifolia, is undergoing a soil treatment program to make sure they continue to thrive.
As many of you know, I tour the grounds every day and keep track of what needs pruning, feeding, and mulching throughout the year. Early last month, I noticed something wasn't quite right with my American beech trees. The trees just didn't look as vibrant or as full. I also knew there was a relatively new beech leaf disease that is spreading rapidly through the Northeast killing both mature American beeches and saplings. I called on True Nature tree and soil expert, Sebastian “Rocky” Camarillo, to take a look right away. Rocky assessed the trees, took many soil samples for testing, and started a thorough feeding plan. Yesterday, Rocky came back to see how they were doing.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- This is my grove of American beech trees. This grove is located at the east end of my long Boxwood Allee not far from the carriage road leading to my hayfields. This photo was taken last fall when my American beech tree grove looked lush and healthy.
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- This spring, i noticed the trees were getting bare. I was concerned they had gotten the beech leaf disease that’s been plaguing trees across the country. The disease, which was first spotted in northeastern Ohio, causes parts of leaves to turn leathery and branches to wither and then kill a tree within six to 10 years. I definitely needed to make sure these beautiful specimens survived.
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- True Nature owner, Rocky Camarillo, came to the farm last month and noticed there was clearly something wrong.
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- Rocky took many samples of soil from around the trees for testing. Soil helps regulate the water, supports biodiversity, filters pollutants, provides support, and cycles nutrients. Soil tests are available at garden shops and online. It is a good idea to test one’s garden soil every three to five years.
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- And then he treated the roots around every tree in the grove. It is crucial to feed the roots and the soil in order to feed the trees. Rocky used a solution containing nitrogen, iron, sulfur, magnesium, manganese, boron, and zinc and went all the way out just past the drip-line of every tree.
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- Unfortunately, the leaves looked withered and many had not grown.
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- Held up to the sunlight, the leaves also showed dark bands – a sign of the beech leaf disease. An invasive nematode is believed to be responsible for disease. These microscopic worms are present in the leaves and buds of infected beech trees. Hopefully the added nutrients could strengthen the tree and fight the disease.
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- In the weeks following that first treatment, I already noticed a little improvement. Rocky returned to the farm yesterday to check on the grove.
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- While many of the leaves still looked diseased, new growth showed green, smooth, healthy leaves. The trees were doing better, but the soil still needed some more nutrients. The soil tests showed a low CEC, or Cation exchange capacity, a property of soil that describes its capacity to supply nutrients for plant uptake.
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- Rocky’s son, Eric, puts together the AirSpade – a hose attachment for a compressor that can shoot air and uncover sensitive tree roots without harming them.
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- Using the AirSpade, Rocky clears the area around the tree’s base. The trunk base, where it widens, is called the root flare or root collar or root crown. This is a key area on any tree. The rule of thumb when planting trees is to be sure the tree is “bare to the flare.”
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- Rocky also cuts any roots that are wrapped too tightly against the flare roots.
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- This tree now has a well-exposed flare.
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- Next, Rocky uses the AirSpade to make holes around the tree. Rocky does this in many locations under the canopy and all the way out just past the drip-line of every tree. The drip-line is the area directly located under the outer circumference of the tree branches. When the tree canopy gets wet, any excess is shed to the ground along this drip-line. This is also known as a tree’s critical root zone or root protection zone.
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- Meanwhile, Eric mixes a solution of compost and biochar, which is the lightweight black residue, made of carbon and ashes.
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- He then adds bokashi, a fermented organic fertilizer that contains beneficial microorganisms and nutrients. Bokashi is different from compost because it uses fermentation to break organic waste down and compost uses decomposition.
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- Here, Rocky mixes the elements together.
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- And then Freddy pushes generous amounts of the mixture into each hole around the tree.
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- Each hole goes down at least a foot deep into the soil.
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- The next step is to spray the surface soil with fertilizer. The same liquid fertilizer he used in his first visit.
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- Freddy sprays the fertilizer generously around each tree. We’re also expecting some rain this week which will hopefully help the tree roots absorb the new nutrients.
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- The trio stopped for a quick photo – here’s Rocky, Freddy, and Eric.
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- Rocky will be back again before the summer is over to check on this grove and all the other American beech trees around the farm, including the purple columnar beech trees around my pool, the fastigiate beech trees outside my Winter House, and the weeping copper beech trees. I am looking forward to seeing these trees look even better in the weeks ahead. I will keep you all updated – stay tuned.
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