Another tree down

It was bound to happen.  We returned from a berry buying trip in major storm.  A tree was across our driveway.  Of course, it is pouring rain.  On the plus side, I have a vehicle on either side of the tree.  What is weird is predicting how the branches have it sprung.  On more than one cut, it began to roll in one direction and then reversed.

Sorry that happened.  I hope your vehicles were not damaged or your house, either.

I see chain saws in your future.

I have 3 chainsaws.

Was the whole tree uprooted? How was the root system look like? I have seen many trees coming down in town, either transplanted landscape trees or native trees on own roots. The ball of roots and dirt lifted up all seemed fairly shallow, less than 1.5 ft in thickness and without any sign of tap roots. Soil underneath is red subsoil. I have big trees around the house and am wondering how to get tree roots to grow down for better anchoring.

Hi May,

It was a pine …so there goes my hopes for firewood.  Yes, we have had lots of rain that kicked in on the 13 th.  I have not closely examined it, but it did come up by the roots, and it appears to be shallow.

The tree is removed.   The Greenworks saws were up to the task.

Glad to hear about the Greenworks saws.  Sorry to hear about yet another tree.

At the very least you have an abundant supply of firewood for the foreseeable future.  Is your tree canopy much affected by recent tree losses?

Eric

Hi Eric,

Rough guess, of my 11 acres, more than 7 are heavily wooded.  Other than the one tree I deliberately left half standing for the squirrels, I doubt if anyone new to the property could see where anything is missing.

May Lotito wrote:... The ball of roots and dirt lifted up all seemed fairly shallow, less than 1.5 ft in thickness and without any sign of tap roots. Soil underneath is red subsoil. I have big trees around the house and am wondering how to get tree roots to grow down for better anchoring.

I suspect the roots are hanging out where the microbial action is, and red subsoil isn't very appetizing?
I know there are people who've tried "the hole" method, including myself.

I would choose a spot outside the drip line, but I was dealing with young small trees.
I'd dig a hole as narrow and deep as I can - I think the recommendation was 18" wide by 3 feet deep, but my land is glacial till (read rocks, rocks and boulders) so I do well to make it more like 3 feet in diameter and 18 inches to 2 feet deep.
Then I'd add anything compostable I had to the hole. I used to have a friend with organic horses, so their shit was welcomed, bedding from my ducks and chickens, veggie scraps from the prep table at a friend's restaurant, any plant matter I had a surplus of. I'd also toss in worms if there were any hanging around.
The goal is to give the tree roots something yummy to go looking for, and a way to get some water down deep where they'd also look for it. Give the tree roots a reason to go there.
In a perfect world, I would make several of these holes around the tree, but I do start by considering the likely damaging wind direction and going there first, as doing this on my land is incredibly difficult.

John, it is good to know that the overall damage is minimal.

When the derecho hit in 2009, my woodlands were heavily affected.


Eric