Keep it Green, by Michael Womack
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Saturday, July 14, 2001

Grow tall, healthy trees by maintaining a good lawn

Summer is one of the most maintenance-intensive times of year for most lawns. High temperatures, low rainfall, wind and sun contribute to increased maintenance demands. Grass is at its peak growing season and may require more mowing, trimming and watering than at other times of the year.
   But you may not realize that your grass maintenance directly affects the tree growth in your landscape. Therefore, you must identify how to effectively care for your grass while encouraging strong tree growth.
   The first consideration is mowing and trimming. The No. 1 tree-killing practice is trimming too close to the trunk of a tree, particularly a young tree. When the line of a grass trimmer hits the tree trunk, it will often damage or remove some of the bark. Reckless mowing, where the lawnmower is allowed to bang against the base of a tree will do the same thing. Over time, the tree bark may be completely removed, causing a girdle.
   When a tree's bark is girdled, the roots are no longer able to obtain food, and the tree can die.
   Mulch protection
   So, what can you do to protect your trees?
   First, remove grass and put mulch around the base of trees to prevent weeds. Or install plastic tree guards, which encircle the tree trunk.
   Grass removal is not a common practice here, but it is critical, especially in the lives of young trees. Since grass also competes for the same water and nutrients as a newly planted tree, removing grass will provide more resources to these trees. Faster establishment will result in quicker growth of your new tree.
   If a tree shows some of the early signs of damage, all hope may not be lost. As long as it is not approaching the girdled extreme, the tree may recover. Trees have natural mechanisms to compartmentalize damage in an effort to repair the damage to some extent and protect the rest of the tree.
   Deep watering is key
   Promoting strong tree growth will aid in the repair process.
   Proper watering is important. Young trees can be watered in a makeshift well that is dug around a freshly planted tree. However, as the tree becomes established, it sends roots out away from that area. It is therefore important to water the areas beyond that mini-earthen dam, especially after that first year.
   Deep watering of the surrounding area will encourage strong, deep grass roots while supplying water to your tree roots. Frequent, light watering is not recommended. The "thumb on the hose" method of watering may be the most therapeutic, but it typically supplies water to a limited soil depth due to our limited attention span to any one area.
   Also keeping your grass fertilized with at least two or three fertilizer applications each year will provide nutrients to both the grass and the trees. You typically don't need a special fertilizer for most shade trees; the fertilizer application you make for your grass will also be taken up by the tree roots.
  
  

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Michael Womack is a horticulturist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Got a question? Michael Womack will answer landscape and gardening questions. Call 886-4648, category 3025 to record your question. Write Keep It Green, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, TX 78469 or email wm-womack@tamu.edu

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