I wouldn't bother with the coring - the soil between the cores - that is, nearly all of it - stays the same. Moving dad into a retirement community some miles away might be productive, however.

cattyles, ya tell a pretty decent story.

Any of the pines of the southwest do ok in your area? It would be great to find something which won't drive up your water bill but will get big and tree like.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wikipedia link

You guys are the best! Just for reading that whole thing.....

bboy- dad is going to aerate because that's what he thinks that damn fescue needs. Well, that and $150 worth of water every month (lawn on separate bill). I'm just hoping the core aeration won't harm the tree roots now that I know how close to the surface the roots are.

toronado3800- I have 4 really big pines and 1 more what I consider to be a pretty massive pine. I will post pictures as soon as I can. I am still at work (hospital, waiting on a baby to be born) and in about 4 hours, it will be time to be back at work. But I will try to post pictures tomorrow. I have some gorgeous, big trees- especially for this area. I love them! And I don't want to lose any more of them. The house was built in '78 and the pines were planted before the house was finished. Not sure about the locust, they are as big as the others but faster growing, right? The oaks are probably not much younger. The locust that was removed was at least 40 ft.

Oh and bboy- The retirement community suggestion made me get all dreamy eyed. Then I remembered that I moved him FROM a lovely one 30 miles away so he could enjoy his retirement with his delightful, loving daughter and grandson. The process can be reversed, though if he doesn't start minding better haha.

This post was edited by cattyles on Sat, May 10, 14 at 13:25

Red maples like moist soil, one of the common names is swamp maple.

What is the deal with retired men with a beer in one hand and a hose in the other that makes it impossible for them to turn the dang hose off?

==>> be glad its the garden hose he is playing with.. while standing in the yard ...

your OP is hilarious.. thx for such

as you are well aware.. dad is more important ... let him do what he wants ....

have him pay the water bill also ... he will come to understand when it cuts .. significantly.. into his beer money ...

i agree on the uselessness of coring .... boat payment for the guy who owns the machine ....

ken

Catty, the core aeration process will not harm the trees, so don't worry about that. It can be hugely beneficial, as a matter of fact, if the soil is compacted or fine textured. Encourage your Dad to top-dress
with a triple-grind bark after the aeration is done. For the fescue, of course.

Don't tell him that he'll be benefitting the trees.

i agree on the uselessness of coring

Uselessness?? Core aeration is absolutely the best thing you can do for a lawn - I rate it even higher than any sort of fertilizing and recommend it be done annually. Soils under lawns ARE compacted - it is just the nature of the beast. Walking or playing, routine mowing, even watering or rain all cause compaction. And compaction limits the ability of water to penetrate into the soil, for the lawn to develop deep roots (and therefore more drought tolerance) and for any fertilization to be efficient or even moderately beneficial.

Rhizo is absolutely right. Core aerate then topdress with fine bark or coarse compost. The trees will benefit, the lawn will benefit, the water bills will decline and Dad will be happy. And core aerators can be had at any equipment rental outfit for a modest charge per day.

Core aeration is for making holes in an impervious thatch layer. A compacted soil is not going to be broken up by just the poking of holes in it - an aerator is not a tiller. A hard, dry soil beneath thatch will, of course eventually become somewhat softer when water is able to reach it.

Sorry but that is not at all correct. Core aeration is not for just thatch removal (that's what power dethatcher attachments or thatching rakes are all about). Ask any lawn care professional and they will outline the benefits of aeration. A core aerator does not "poke holes" in the soil - it actually removes a 3" long (or more) plug of soil/thatch/lawn all over the treated area. If these plugs are left to breakdown and decompose and a thin layer of fine bark or compost is spread over the area, textural components of organic matter work their way down into the soil via these empty 'cores', loosening the soil and opening up pore space (that's why they call it "aeration"), allowing for deeper penetration of water and lawn roots which further loosen the soil.

Core aeration will certainly help in reducing thatch build up (so will using a mulching mower) but that is not its primary intent.

Here is a link that might be useful: professional turf care take on the benefits of core aeration

Thank you for the reassurance that aeration won't damage tree roots, Rhizo and Gardengal. It's not as if I might be able to talk him out of it. He's definitely going to rent the aerator and do it. And then I will topdress. Thank you for that suggestion.

It's not that the fescue isn't gorgeous.....it is. But it's hard to enjoy and appreciate it when we are in the midst of a horrible drought.

The man makes fun of MULCH. My yard makes its' own wonderful mulch- all the pine straw and leaves I need. But he can't understand why I would not rather use that pretty colored rubber stuff. There's no reasoning with that.

I know Ken is right, I should humor and indulge him. So I will try. As long as he doesn't do anything that could harm the trees. As long as it's ok to sedate him if he ever tries to weed and feed again.

Another vote here for core aeration. It does wonders for improving water infiltration, overseeding and soil compaction.

My lawn is too new yet (thin) but can't wait to core aerate as its compated in many areas and the water just sheds right down the hills.

I wasn't talking about thatch removal.

By what specific mechanism is the physical properties of the soil between the holes changed by cores being removed and filled with different material? How does coring manage to affect soil outside of the holes whereas using root feeders and amended planting hole back-fill does not change the soil around the holes made in so doing?

This post was edited by bboy on Thu, Aug 22, 13 at 20:44

==>> be glad its the garden hose he is playing with.. while standing in the yard ...See?!? Must be something about the name Ken.

While I was at work today dad hauled all my saved-up pine straw to the dump. I am going to put a name tag on dad that says "Quercus robur" and ship him to Ken_Adrian.

Personally I don't fill holes. You overseed with the open holes so those seeds get deeper roots while getting shade from the existing grass plants.

Over the growing season it fills in.

I have read a little about overseeding. It probably does need it, it seems a little more sparse this year. I never thought my dad and I would have heated arguments over fertilizer. He wants to spread a ton of it right now while it is 95-100 degrees.

Last year I planted some bare root hostas that he made fun of and said they would never come up but 5 did. He loves to gently carry any snail he comes across over to the hostas and find them a nice comfy spot. I am not exaggerating. That's just wrong and hurtful.