Howdy folks, first time poster. Hope y'all can help. Grateful a community like this is available.
I live In Tempe, Arizona. For those unfamiliar with the area, it’s hot here. Like super hot. Summer temperatures exceed 110* regularly.
I purchased my home about three years ago and I am the proud owner of two Australian Bottle Trees. They are the Brachychiton Populneos or Kurrajong version that makes a horrible mess and have the annoying seed pods that hurt to step on. But that's ok!! I love the trees. Great shade. Anyway, I think they're at least 20 yeas old, the house was built in the 70s but they look too young to be 50 years old.
Over the last year or so, on the north side of the trees, the leaves have been yellowing. Branches dry out, become brittle, and die. A couple of years ago, I had an arborist come out and they cleaned up all of my trees, but to the tune of $1100, I'd prefer trying to fix this problem myself. This spring I added some 16-4-4 spikes around the tree line, however that has yet to make an impact.
I've attached pictures to illustrate what I’m dealing with. I suspect they're receiving too much water due to the lawn underneath. I'm kind of in a tough spot there though - I cut the water to the grass trying to help the trees for a season and the house just looks like shit without the grass. The tree health didn't appear to benefit either, but if that is the culprit, whoever planted them (and the subsequent grass) wasn't very forward thinking for the symbiotic relationship between the two.
Ultimately I think I'm running out of options. I'm extremely concerned the trees are dying. Any assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated. Fingers crossed, one of y'all have some advice that will help. Thanks!
I live In Tempe, Arizona. For those unfamiliar with the area, it’s hot here. Like super hot. Summer temperatures exceed 110* regularly.
I purchased my home about three years ago and I am the proud owner of two Australian Bottle Trees. They are the Brachychiton Populneos or Kurrajong version that makes a horrible mess and have the annoying seed pods that hurt to step on. But that's ok!! I love the trees. Great shade. Anyway, I think they're at least 20 yeas old, the house was built in the 70s but they look too young to be 50 years old.
Over the last year or so, on the north side of the trees, the leaves have been yellowing. Branches dry out, become brittle, and die. A couple of years ago, I had an arborist come out and they cleaned up all of my trees, but to the tune of $1100, I'd prefer trying to fix this problem myself. This spring I added some 16-4-4 spikes around the tree line, however that has yet to make an impact.
I've attached pictures to illustrate what I’m dealing with. I suspect they're receiving too much water due to the lawn underneath. I'm kind of in a tough spot there though - I cut the water to the grass trying to help the trees for a season and the house just looks like shit without the grass. The tree health didn't appear to benefit either, but if that is the culprit, whoever planted them (and the subsequent grass) wasn't very forward thinking for the symbiotic relationship between the two.
Ultimately I think I'm running out of options. I'm extremely concerned the trees are dying. Any assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated. Fingers crossed, one of y'all have some advice that will help. Thanks!
Last edited: