Tree Treatment During Construction - Torture or Thoughtfulness

Unless you've been a recluse or out of the country for a few years, you have noticed and possibly been impacted by all the growth in Denver and surrounding areas. I hear different statistics so don't know what to believe on how many people are moving to CO each month. I've heard numbers from 1K to 10K. Add these transplants to the competitive home seller's market to the new builds (home and business) and we have a downright boom. 

What's all the fuss about a building boom? I have some fuss to discuss and it has to do with how trees are being treated while all this building is going on around them. Please, sit back and let me tell you two real life tree treatment stories.

The first is my story. 

We had the fortunate opportunity to build a new home six years ago on the same property we owned. As a gardener I was most concerned about keeping the decades old American linden tree healthy during the ten month building project and less concern about the choice of knobs for the cabinets. Plus we had a 15-year old Bosnian pine that had already proven itself to be tougher than dirt on nails that needed some care, and four more trees on the boulevard that definitely needed minding.

Our Linden August 2011

By minding a tree during construction I'm talking about protecting their extensive root system from compaction from trucks and trailers, added dirt or debris on top and of course watering care. In most cases the home owner is staying somewhere else during construction. Who has time to worry about caring for trees when a new house awaits! 

In Denver, the City Foresters' office requires that trees be fenced a certain circumference around to protect their roots, branches, etc. All good. They list watering care recommendations and no-nos about contractors taking liberties and taking down the temporary fence to move materials or parking a forklift near a tree or using the area as a holding spot for a truckload of soil or roofing materials. 

Building no-nos happen, I've seen it and it's happening now with a house on our block that is being built. The City Forester inspectors regularly check on new builds to make sure the fencing is still in place but there are no government drones to keep contractors and sub-contractors in check (thank goodness). Are home owners making the effort to protect and water their trees during construction? Some try, we tried.

Without giving you every twist, turn and detail of my story, suffice it to say it wasn't easy taking care of six trees while abiding by the building rules and regulations from the local government and water municipality. Before one foot of ground was dug in late July the very first thing on the schedule was the current water tap shut off. 

The new replacement tap for water use was only designated for the contractor during the build. That leaves the home owner in charge of watering trees by carrying buckets or sneaking contractor water at the peril of a hefty fine.

Our New House - Linden Background Oct '11

I suppose a close by neighbor could have been generous with their hose, but we didn't go there and technically that isn't legal either. The other option was hire a tree company to deep water every few weeks, but that would add more cost to the construction project. 

I wasn't going to take no from the powers to be and not be able to water six trees from August to the following May. The work around is always about the mighty dollar. We only had one choice to get the official okay to water during our construction project. We had to write a good size check to the water municipality in advance of the completion of the new house in order to use the water. Which, by the way, isn't the standard procedure. 

The norm is that the home owner starts paying for the new tap and metered water when they move in to their new house - no matter how long the building project takes place and no matter how long the trees or shrubs or any plants go without water. 

A quick search on my municipality's website didn't let me know if their rules remain from six years ago or if they allow and encourage a new tap to be installed at the beginning of the building project, which means it would be metered and easily usable by the homeowner. That is.. if the builder puts in a temporary above ground hose bib attachment so a hose and sprinkler can be connected. Our plumbing contractor added the bib in about an hour (wish I had taken a photo).

I'm not sure how many people even know about watering procedures during their home construction or re-model. And I don't want to negatively judge nice folks who simply want a new house to move in to one day. My sense is if they have not thoroughly thought about their landscape plant and tree needs or were told how easily they can be damaged or impacted during construction. If so, they might pay more attention.

In case you're wondering, the check we wrote for water usage during the build was credited for future water use. After moving in we had several months of credit from the check we had given them ten months prior. I guess that's one bright spot of these nonsense regulations.

The second story is about the healthy linden (older and taller than ours) growing in the tree lawn.

Landscape Soil Piled Next to the Neighbor's Linden

Their project began last April (2017) and to date (early January 2018) the tree has only been watered by some scant Mother Nature moisture. The ground near and around it has regularly been compacted by heavy pieces of equipment ranging from small bobcats to very large crane trucks unloading roofing, lumber, framing and the kitchen sink. 

The front retaining wall is being installed now which is no doubt negatively impacting the linden roots that have reached in to the tree lawn and adjacent slope. Watching the bobcat move a tremendous amount of soil near this linden tree the other day (which included large, thick tree roots) just about made me cry. Okay, call me an emotionally sensitive tree lover (ESTL), but I'll wear the badge proudly. Who is watching out for this tree? How will it manage after all the carnage and compaction?

Another Angle Showing Piled Soil near Neighbor's Linden

I might be able to answer that by what is going on with our linden today - it is stressed, very stressed, add the November 2014 polar vortex and it is anyone's guess for survival.

Six years ago I was watching our builders like a hawk to steer them and the equipment away from the linden drip line. I watered often during the building period. We even hired a tree company to deep water two to three times because we felt that it needed more water than I could manage with a hose and sprinkler. 

Even with all the construction care and my regular deep watering practices since the build, our tree is not happy. The picture below shows the major stressed areas - northwest side. Notice the early leaf drop. The entire tree's leaves have been much smaller in size than normal American linden leaves, it barely flowered last spring.  

The bottom line is we want our landscape plants, especially the trees to remain healthy for years of enjoyment ahead. I'm crossing my fingers and practicing correct pruning, care and tree watering (including winter watering), hopefully it will make it. The neighbor tree will be interesting to watch - hope it makes it too.

Our Linden October 2017