With the recent mild temps and snow melt, the conditions are too wet to continue work on the course. We were able to finish on Orchard 8 early in the week, and then started removing pine trees along the pool and tennis courts. We'll also be removing pine trees as you drive into the club along the hillside that overlooks the putting green and Orchard 9 green. Unfortunately, these trees are being killed by a variety of factors and are past the point of saving.
The main cause of death for the trees planted on the hillsides are girdling roots. Girdling roots are lateral roots that grow around (encircle) the base of the tree. As the tree matures, the roots become tighter and will cut into the bark and inner cambium. Over time the girdling roots will cut off the natural flow of water and nutrients throughout the tree, which leads to death. The main cause of girdling roots is that they develop as a result of trees being planted too deeply. When roots are covered by too much soil, less oxygen and water is available. The roots will grow up towards the surface of the soil and encircle the trunk. All the trees removed so far had girdling roots evident at the soil surface, some worse than others. The problem with planting trees on hillsides is that for the tree to be straight, one side of the root ball will be covered by too much soil and the other side typically doesn't receive enough soil. The steeper the slope the worse the problem becomes.
A handful of the pine trees are also being killed by Diplodia Tip Blight. It's a naturally-occurring fungus that easily spreads by wind and water movement. The fungus will attack new growth at the tips of the branches and form cankers that will restrict the flow of water and nutrients. As the infection progresses, the lowest branches will die off and the disease moves upward in the tree.
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| Pine tree being killed by girdling roots |
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| Girdling roots caused by planting on a hillside |
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| One of several dead pine trees along hillside overlooking practice green |
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| Pine tree near tennis courts showing signs of Diplodia Tip Blight |
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