Hi. I am in Southeast Michigan and I planted a 2 ft cherry tree about 4 or 5 years ago in my back yard. My dogs ran over it for the first two years and bent it quite a bit because it was short, but it continued to grow and leaf. Last year it started less than 5 ft and ended up over 6ft tall. It has never had flowers. Late last year I surrounded it with stones to keep the dogs from peeing on it. This year it was looking good until two wks ago when it seemed to be pulling from the hole in the ground. When it was windy it would tilt around and soon the hole became larger than the trunk. I have added more soil around the base, placed cedar mulch on top of that and staked it with string so it doesn't keep spinning around, but it doesn't seem to have helped. The leaves are yellowing and drooping. Any ideas??
Hmm... root death caused by compaction from the rocks / restriction of oxygen? Instead of rocks, use wire fencing (if it survives...)
It seems to be more than the cherry that is having problems - the grass is not doing that well either. Has there been a long period with no water? Or a wet winter when it was drowned in water? I know nothing about soil conditions, except that you want the roots to spread out, so it's not even the best idea to improve the soil immediately around a tree. Are there still roots?
Thanks for your responses this far!! I will remove rocks to see if improves things. I figured the roots would have spread out way past that area by now. Grass was replaced last year w sod, but company did not place new soil down first so grass has failed in most areas. It wasn't very cold or wet this winter or spring. We don't get a lot of rain or snow anymore...
I removed the stones and there were tiny black ants beneath a few of them. They weren't happy because they had to move their eggs! I guess that's what the white specks were. I moved the soil and mulch a bit and exposed the trunk more. I didn't realize I had put the soil so close to it.
