A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 New Rockgarden

I want to put in another rock garden and it will be located around a very tall ash tree. I know that it is going to need to be at least couple of feet higher than the ground now and I know that I cannot have soil that deep around the trunk or it will kill my tree eventually. I was hoping I could cut a large plastic barrel the height I want and slit it and slip it around the trunk and then hide it with rocks on the top, then filling the soil on the outside of the barrel. My question is does the trunk need more air than that or sunshine, or could it probably get rotten just as if I piled the soil around it? I hope soneone could help me out with this question or suggest another method. I do need to raise the ground in that whole area and I can't just pile rocks around the base of the tree, the soil would eventually seep in to it.

Adding just a few inches of soil around a tree can kill it. There needs to be space between the trunk and the raised bed.

I` not sure how much distance there needs to be. Maybe 1 1/2 to 2 feet?

Hi Shamarian,
I agree with Rue. If you raise the level of the soil even a few inches, you will kill your tree over time or the roots will rise to the surface looking for oxygen. Most tree roots only go down about 18" and need the oxygen. Here's a site that has some helpful info.
http://www.treehelp.com/howto/howto-prevent-construction-damage.asp

Here's one that explains how to do a tree well.
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/treeshru/treewells.htm

This one shows a picture of a well.
http://www.selecticd.com/pages/sws_gallery_image_02.html

Hope this helps,
Newt

oops, this one might be helpful too.


Tree Well how to

Newt

Newt, thank you for all that good information, I now have a pretty good plan on how I am going to do this without killing my tree.

Shamarin, you're so very welcome. Hope you can still get your garden!

Newt

This might help also.

Rock Garden under Ash Tree