We’re renting a nice house with a 8′ tall Japanese Maple in the back yard. A couple months ago I noticed some of the inner branches were dying and it is spreading.
I think I know the cause. The owners have an automatic sprinkler system set up, and the ground around the tree is getting too much water. The sprinklers go off every other day for 5 minutes, but the ground never has a chance to dry out. No grass is in a 2 ft radius of the tree trunk, and it’s a flat muddy mess. Apparently it’s always been like this, but all of a sudden it’s dying. Also, there is no mulch.
I’ve tried aerating the ground and adding fertilizer, but it’s getting worse. Can someone please tell me what I can do to work around this problem and save the tree? I can’t move the sprinklers and I can’t just turn it off, because I can’t program it.
Thanks.
Thanks Toffy. It doesn’t have a rain button (that would make too much sense!) so I’m going to go online and look for a user manual for this Irritrol system. It’s all handled digitally. Thanks for all of your help!
Thanks bonsai guy, pics have been sent.