# Allelopathy and Maple Trees



## drummereef (Oct 15, 2018)

Wondering if someone knows more about allelopathy and Maple trees - specifically red maples. I have a terrible time keeping grass alive below the drip line of my 20 year old maple and find it hard to believe it's just a water/nutrient issue.

1. Grass was dead/dormant by June of this year - 2019. Zone 6b. Rest of yard was perfect.

2. Dead grass raked up without effort under the tree during prep to over-seed.

3. Extremely slow germination and vigor compared to other renovated areas September 2019. Very spotty coming in and had to re-seed 3 times due to lack of vigor.

4. Noticed an increase in turf vigor under the drip line as the maple leaves started turning for fall. It's mostly filled in now but very slow to grow compared to the rest of the yard.

5. I raised the canopy in effort to get more airflow and light below the tree for over-seed, canopy is 10-12 feet above the turf now. Didn't noticed any marked difference in doing so.

I'm highly considering removing the tree next year as it's a constant struggle and the need to renovate under the tree each year. Not sure what else to do... Any other's here with similar experiences or knowledge of allelopathy?


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

I have thick TTTF under my maples. Have you done a soil test only for the struggling spots? Maybe there is a massive deficiency of some sort. Grubs? If you are sure it isn't water, I would start with a soil test and also check for grubs.


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## Babaganoosh (Apr 21, 2019)

Could be shallow roots. A lot of red maples even have roots above ground.


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## Wolverine (Jan 17, 2018)

Irrigation is critical. In the heat of summer the tree will win the moisture battle every time.


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## drummereef (Oct 15, 2018)

I appreciate the responses! Sorry my notifications weren't showing... Fixed!

I'm not sure it was water as last spring we had a lot of rain - The grass was still toast by June. I applied Grubex last spring, I don't have any grub issues in other parts of the lawn. I had a soils test pulled this past summer. No extreme deficiencies, but I was advised to apply Gypsum to raise Calcium, and help "open" up the soil structure below the tree. Nothing really explains the lack of vigor during germination though... It just didn't come it nearly as fast or vigorous as other areas of the lawn. I suppose compaction could be an issue under the drip line of the tree??


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

What was the soil ph?


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## drummereef (Oct 15, 2018)

Suburban Jungle Life said:


> What was the soil ph?


6.6 from Midwest Labs soil test.


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