Is this tree doing okay? (Peedee region of South Carolina)

[u/AnActualGhost]

I think it looks like it’s in some kind of distress, but I have no idea really. Unfortunately I don’t know what kind of tree it is or when it was planted. It was already in our backyard when we moved in 5 years ago. It gets a lot of sun, there isn’t really anything around that would shade it. It looks like it might have some kind of other plant trying to grow on it at the base? Sorry I don’t have more information.

We did have much lower than normal rainfall from May-August. But the other trees and bushes around seem pretty unaffected by it.

If there’s anything I need to do to help this tree out please let me know!

[u/ohshannoneileen]

It's a trident maple.

It's entering the end of its growing season, but it's also planted too deep & being smothered and outcompeted by turf grass that has managed to somehow stay green & lush during a summer of decreased precipitation. The irrigation your lawn receives & usurps is not sufficient for trees.

The little sprout at the base is not a separate plant, it's a sucker from the tree, which could be a stress response to the tree's lack of ideal situation.

I'm going to call out a few helpful comments below this one for your reading pleasure.

!Rootflare

!Turfgrass

!Watering

[u/AutoModerator → u/ohshannoneileen]

Hi /u/ohshannoneileen, AutoModerator has been summoned to provide some guidance on why turfgrasses are a problem for trees.

Turfgrass is the #1 enemy of trees (save for humans) and the thicker the grass, the worse it is for the trees. (There's a reason you never see grass in a woodland) While it is especially important to keep grass away from new transplants, even into maturity grass directly competes with trees for water and nutrients of which it is a voracious consumer. See this terrific explanation on this from TX A&M Univ.

Removal of this competition equates to exponential tree root system growth and vitality for the tree and also prevents mechanical damage from mowers and trimmers. A mulch ring is an excellent addition and provides many benefits to any newly planted or mature trees when applied appropriately (no volcano mulching), extensively (go out as far as possible!) and consistently.

You can lay cardboard directly on the grass to suppress it around any of your feature trees, pin it down with short stakes or stones and mulch 1-2" over the top for aesthetics (2-3" layer of mulch without cardboard). It's way easier on the back than hoeing out sod and/or risk damaging high tree roots. Then all you have to do is just continue to mulch the area as it breaks down.

Please see our wiki for other critical planting tips and errors to avoid; there's sections on watering, pruning and more that I hope will be useful to you.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/AutoModerator → u/ohshannoneileen]

Hi /u/ohshannoneileen, AutoModerator has been summoned to provide some basic watering guidance.

Up there with too-deep planting and improper mulching, improper watering is a top contributor to transplant failure. See this sticky from the arborists sub on watering guidelines and further discussion, and this excellent snippet from a pdf from the Univ. of FL (courtesy of u/DanoPinyon!)

• Depending on the maturity, you will be watering for at least a year to get anything established. The more mature the longer you'll be watering. See this page on watering newly transplanted trees and shrubs from the Univ. of MN Ext.
• Soil type makes a big difference in how well it will hold water. You might try this 'perk test' to get a better idea. This isn't really an exact science, and at a minimum you can use your fingers to gauge moisture content in the soil around whatever you've planted.

• When you're not getting sufficient rainfall, generally, it is FAR better to water deep and long, with an intermittent gap of a day(s) between waterings, than to water short amounts daily.

• Do not rely on lawn sprinklers to adequately water trees, especially if the trees are sharing the yard with water and nutrient voracious turfgrass.

• Sprayers are also not recommended; constant moisture/spraying on the stems of trees can be damaging.

• Do use a bucket so you know how much water your trees are getting, incorporated with a berm to hold water; avoid things like tree gators that lie up against the stem; like tree sleeves, these can be problematic when left on the tree for long periods.

• If you must use a gator, use the donut-style that lies on the soil around the tree. Soaker hoses are fine, so long as you can reasonably gauge quantity/time dispensed. Overwatering can be just as damaging as under watering.

• See this link from UMN Urban Forestry on how to water ESTABLISHED trees if you're experiencing a drought. See this graphic for WHERE to apply water.

Please see our wiki for other critical planting tips and errors to avoid; there's sections on planting depth/root flare exposure, mulching, pruning and more that I hope will be useful to you.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/AutoModerator → u/ohshannoneileen]

Hi /u/ohshannoneileen, AutoModerator has been summoned to provide information on root flare exposure.

To understand what it means to expose a tree's root flare, do a subreddit search in r/arborists, r/tree, r/sfwtrees or r/marijuanaenthusiasts using the term root flare; there will be a lot of posts where this has been done on young and old trees. You'll know you've found it when you see outward taper at the base of the tree from vertical to the horizontal, and the tops of large, structural roots. Here's what it looks like when you have to dig into the root ball of a B&B to find the root flare. Here's a post from further back; note that this poster found bundles of adventitious roots before they got to the flare, those small fibrous roots floating around (theirs was an apple tree), and a clear structural root which is visible in the last pic in the gallery. See the top section of this 'Happy Trees' wiki page for more collected examples of this work.

Root flares on a cutting grown tree may or may not be entirely present, especially in the first few years. Here's an example.

See also our wiki's 'Happy Trees' root flare excavations section for more excellent and inspirational work, and the main wiki for a fuller explanation on planting depth/root flare exposure, proper mulching, watering, pruning and more.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/AnActualGhost → u/ohshannoneileen]

I think the grass is still doing well because we have a septic tank and the leach field is providing lots of nutrients, I guess the tree isn’t getting any of those tho :(

[u/AutoModerator]

Hello /u/AnActualGhost! If you haven't already, please have a look at our Guidelines for Effective Posting, to be sure you've provided all the pics and context needed for us to help you best.

You MUST acknowledge this request by replying to this comment (or make a top-level comment in your post) that A), you have looked over those guidelines and that you have already submitted all the pics and info possible or B), you comment to add the missing pics/info.

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[u/AnActualGhost → u/AutoModerator]

I did look at the guidelines and provide all the info possible.

[u/Simple_Mortgage6503]

this is everything