ECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT 631.324.4239
Diseased Elms
American Elm Prosperity Program
HISTORY: The Village of East Hampton is the home of 148 Elm trees, which have been under the watchful eye of the Ladies Village Improvement Society (LVIS) for over 30 years. These trees had continual dieback in the canopy that represented the classic flagging of Dutch Elm Disease (DED). They also had mite issues and anthracnose problems causing the leaves to drop earlier then the other street trees lining the village. Tests were done to determine a plan of action.
DISCOVERIES: The soil media was unable to support these trees and was filled with root feeding nematodes. The soil structure lacked the ability to hold water and nutrients for tree health.
PLAN:
- A blend of local leaf litter, compost from Maryland and Pennsylvania along with pebbles and food sources (humic acid and kelp) were placed in large plastic bins.
- A combination of plant beneficial local indigenous bacteria and fungi we had cultured we added microbes and we inoculated our living compost. This material matured into the most plant beneficial material available.
- We then tested this material against two common soil diseases: Phytopthora and pithium. Our material suppressed these two diseases in 12 trials. (Data available upon request.)