you are way over thinking this ...

its simple.. in my world... warped as it is ... and it goes something like this ....

the tree put its roots where it wants them.. either thru its culture [the drainage issue] ... or because of its genetics ...

i would bet my shiny nickle.. if you did the research.. you will find.. that white ash are surface rooters ... and if that is the case ... then you cant fight it.. and anything you do.. is irrelevant ...

in fact.. i got rid of some green ash for precisely this reason ...

this also means.. you will NEVER garden under them... except for adding mulch.. and growing things in pots on top of the soil ... and if they are like maples.. they will grow roots up into your pots ....

if mowing were an issue for me.. i would add a few inches OF WOODS CHIPS ...

finely ground city mulch is variable.. and can either be a mulch.. or a soil amendment..

if you are getting a soil amendment from the city.. then all you are going to end up doing ... is raising the soil level.. into which the tree will grow more surface roots ... which wont accomplish anything ...

frankly.. but for turning off the water.. i think you are trying to fix something that isnt broken.. or i misread your words ...

answer this: what are you trying to accomplish ... and the answer better not be.. to make a surface rooter.. a deep rooted tree ...

ken

ps: many of us would rather die.. than use or deal with rock ... erase that thought from your head ... and dont even think about landscape fabric ....

Don't worry, I'm really cheap and a little bit lazy which is why I haven't covered the area in white rock already, or tried to put down sod or other plants, and which is also why I haven't bought wood chips. I just think the bare dirt and roots and pooling water from the sprinkler look sad, and now that I have found out about the free city mulch I can cover it all up.

Turning off that sprinkler head is just to save money too, the grass in that area doesn't need it.

I like the idea of dropping off my tree limbs at the city and getting it back in the form of mulch. Here's a picture of the city mulch/soil amendment under a pine tree in the front yard. It's kind of hard to see the texture. The pine tree doesn't have ugly surface roots, just bare soil that I wanted to cover.

If it were me, I'd put the mulch you've suggested but only level with the roots. Be careful not to cover them. Then I would get seeds of your favorite shady groundcover and sprinkle them around in the spring. This way you can still plant something without disturbing the tree's roots.

I am glad to see white ash lives out there. Hopefully you are out of the climate EAB can be a killer in.

Mulch would be all I would do. In my yard weeds and the invasives like Honeysuckle sprout their ugly heads even right at the base of LARGE trees but maybe in a harsher climate you won't have to fight them.

ken_adrian So you would not approve of painting stone green and using it in place of mulch or as a grass replacement?

I do not but it sure is a conversation piece that is not on any property I own.

the tree put its roots where...the roots get the right amount of moisture and air. In other words, poorly draining soil and excess moisture very frequently results in more shallow (i.e. surface) roots.

The ideal with a lawn tree is to end up with the grass coming right up to the trunk, once the tree is big enough to not be inhibited by the grass - and its branches are high enough off the lawn for the grass to be able to grow underneath. This looks much better than a small area of dirt or mulch etc. right around the trunk, with grass all around that - you either want the tree to be seen emerging from a continuous sweep of grass of some size or be housed by a bed that is also big enough to be in scale.

for a guy who.. admits being cheap.. and lazy ... i dont understand how moving a ton or two of rock .. BY HAND ... [cuz you arent going to pay someone to do it.. lol] ... is even in the equation ... have you ever tried to lift a wheelbarrow full of rock ..

and the only thing worse than installing it ...

is a few years later.. when you regret the decision.. and spend a year removing it.. by hand.. having to pick up every single stone individually ...

lol on green stone ... i even hate colored mulch ... crikey ...

your last comment continues to use the word mulch versus wood chips.. i hope you understand the difference ...

listen.. my best suggestion ... round up the grass in about a 6 foot half circle ... install a couple inches of WOOD CHIPS... and add a garden bench to sit on ... this bench forces you to look AWAY from the problem tree.. lol ... done that many times...

or as i said.. a few decorative pots ...

trees of this size.... simply NEVER NEED you to water them .. some suggest a tree is twice as big below ground as above.. and there is a good chance.. its feeder roots are two or 3 houses down .. you are wasting money.. water a mature.. established tree ... if the lawn is watered.. the tree will get whatever it needs ...

this tree from the pic you provide.. appears very happy [its a foot thick] .. and it does not need you to continue such.. if the soil was as problematic as you think it is.. it would have failed.. years ago as a babe ... IMHO .. there is simply no need for you to fix anything here in regard to the soil... or drainage ... turn off the water... and solve your only issue.. and that is mowing the lawn ...

ken

So many interesting things to think about...

Ken, which do I have, mulch or wood chips or soil amendment? (You can see some in the picture of the pine above).

I'm mostly concerned about how the ground looks, not the health of the tree, it has survived overwatering all these years. But I don't want to do damage the tree if I can avoid it. The problem with the water is just that the pooling water and mud looks ugly to me. But really the only time I notice it is when I am doing yard work, and then it looks like I tried to get grass to grow and failed.

This is a small yard 55'x50' and it is full of medium sized trees, the ash is the biggest, you would probably recommend chopping most of them down. So plenty of nice things to look at and the ash roots aren't a big deal.

This post was edited by olreader on Tue, Nov 5, 13 at 10:32

To answer some of the other points raised:

EAB was found for the first time a couple months ago about 15 miles away in Boulder. I think I will start spraying the Bayer stuff next year just to feel like I"m doing something.

You are right that this is a harsher climate and while we do have weeds they don't take over in the same way as other places. We've had about 10 sq ft of bare dirt under the pine in front, and it gets water from our sprinkler system, and we only get a few dandelion type weeds. Now I've covered it in the mulch as shown above, maybe next year I will try to get the grass to grow all the way to the trunk.

I don't want to plant a ground cover because I think people would be reluctant to walk on it and that area right along the fence is the nicest pathway from front yard to back