On 7/20/2009 7:07 AM, Zeppo wrote:
"David E. Ross" wrote in message
et...
On 7/18/2009 5:45 PM, busbus wrote:
Hello,

I don’t even know if you can do what I want to do. I have a birch tree
that is dying. I knew they were short-lived trees whenever I planted
it over 20 years ago. It is on my hillside and I have chicken wire on
the hill helping hold the mulch on it since it is pretty steep, so I
have a mess on my hands.

The tree is about 20-feet tall now. It is a clump birch with three
trunks. Each trunk is about the size of, say, a softball or smaller.

I believe I can cut it down and get a fair amount of roots out. If I
wait a few years, can I plant in exactly the same spot? Or would I be
forced to move 6-8 feet away? If it is the latter, I simply cannot do
it. Could I plant anything in the same hole? A tall bush or something,
at least? The tree helped shade my deck plus I sort of “need” the
height, if you know what I mean…

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
ray
This is a question for your local nursery or arborist. It depends on
the type of tree and why it died.

I know that a peach tree can be planted where an old peach tree has been
removed. Peaches are indeed relatively short-lived. In commercial
peach orchards, it's not unusual to remove all the trees after about 15
years. I had one removed after about 17 years. The tree service ground
out the stump. That was in the fall. The following spring, I planted a
new peach in the exact same spot. This fall (about 20 years later),
I'll have the second one removed and plant a third one there.

On the other hand, I believe that an oak should not be planted where a
previous oak had been removed. That is because a dying oak develops
root fungus that can afflict a new oak.


Isn't there some issue about the old tree's roots? When you remove a tree
and grind the stump, you leave the old root system behind. This takes
several rears to rot, which then leaves a void in the soil. If you replant
on top where the old stump was wont the new planting collapse into the void
as the old roots rot?

Jon



Depending on how old the old tree was and how fast the new tree grows,
this might not be a problem. As roots from an old peach tree decompose,
roots from the new tree replace them in the soil.

When I have a tree removed and the stump ground out, I have the tree
service leave much of the resulting wood chips. These become organic
matter to improve the soil. Only if the tree was diseased (not merely
old past its prime) do I have all debris removed so as not to spread
disease.

In some areas of my garden, roots from other trees have raised the soil.
If I were to remove those trees, the soil would then return to its
original level.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary