Saving a Ponderosa Pine Buried by Construction Fill

Building a Tree Well to Reverse Grade Change Damage

Four feet of fill over a ponderosa pine's trunk will likely kill it—ponderosa is fill-intolerant. Roots need oxygen; fill suffocates them. Solution: excavate a tree well to original grade out to the dripline. Major project; contact Colorado State Forest Service (csfs@lamar.colostate.edu) for guidance. Symptoms may take years to appear.