North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Dan Nave <nave1@comcast.net>]

Hi Leslie,

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'm in St. Paul MN zone 4a or 4b depending.  Not usually dry, but I am 
wondering if there is some root competition with the daylilies that grow around it and seem to be 
very spreading, even though I thought that I had cleared a big enough area for the roots.  I 
expected it to take off and tower over them all anyway since it was supposed to be over 10 feet 
tall.  Heavier composting and some fungi might help.  I have heard of humic acid but am not really 
familiar with its use and where one gets it.

Dan

On 6/17/2011 10:57 PM, Leslie Moyer wrote:
> My serviceberries are growing slowly, too, but I planted them 2 years ago and 
> since then I've been planting all of my trees and shrubs with a dusting (to 
> the roots) of mycorrhizae spores and watering them in with humic acid.  It 
> seems to really make a big difference--everything takes off so much faster 
> and puts on new growth like crazy.  This is something you can add now by 
> mixing them in a water solution and watering it in around the root zone of 
> the tree.  It won't work as well as putting it directly on the root ball, but 
> it's probably better than nothing.  You can read some about it (and see some 
> comparative photos) here: http://www.fungi.com/mycogrow/index.html  His (Paul 
> Staments) books have more info, too.
>
> Giving it plenty of water (you didn't say where you lived--if you live in a 
> drier area they'll definitely appreciate supplemental water) and mulching 
> around the root zone with leaf compost would help, too, if you haven't done 
> that yet.  (The leaf compost will give the mycorrhizae something to feed 
> upon, too, and will likely introduce its own natural supply of mycorrhizae 
> spores.)  Other mulches work, too, but either leaf compost or ramial wood 
> mulch (mulch made from small diameter branches and other bark) works best if 
> you have it available.
>
> I'm putting mine on a drip tape and adding lots of leaf compost this year in 
> the hopes it will spur faster growth. Good luck to us both!  :-)
>
> Leslie Moyer
> unschooler@lrec.org
>
>
>
> On Jun 17, 2011, at 9:10 PM, Dan Nave wrote:
>
> > I bought one of the Serviceberries from Gurneys last year and planted it in 
> > my garden.  It said is
> > was Shadbush Serviceberry, I believe.
> >
> > It is growing but is still quite a tiny plant probably not more than a foot 
> > high in it's second
> > year.  It doesn't get a lot of direct sun because it's so damned small.  I 
> > thought it would grow a
> > lot faster and outgrow the day-lilies that grow around it...
> >
> > Anyone have any suggestions?
> >
> > Dan
> > __________________