~SUSTAINABLE LIVING FOR CHALLENGING TIMES

[sumisu]

OAK LORE / Preserving a heritage tree / Scientist takes holistic approach to sudden oak death

Deborah K. Rich, Special to The Chronicle Published 4:00 am, Saturday, October 8, 2005

http://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/article/OAK-LORE-Preserving-a-heritage-tree-Scientist-2565883.php?utm_campaign=fb-desktop&utm_source=CMS+Sharing+Button&utm_medium=social

MY NOTE: Key paragraph - "As a preventive treatment or when trees are only mildly stressed, Klinger applies a "soil sweetener" to the surface of the soil beneath the tree from the trunk out to the drip line (the perimeter of the tree's canopy). He prefers a product called Azomite, a mined natural crushed rock that contains potash, calcium and more than 50 trace minerals. For trees that have fungi and mosses growing on their trunks, that have bleeding cankers or whose canopy tops are dying back, Klinger also applies a lime wash to the trunk of the tree as well (from the root crown up to an extended arm's reach) using a mixture of lime, sea salt and volcanic ash. Klinger recommends applying the treatments once a year for the first two to three years. After that, he expects that the soil and trunk treatments will be necessary only once every several years. Labor and materials for the treatments generally cost $50-$100 per tree, depending upon its size."