? Rowan tree struggling

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Forget the feed. That's never a good idea for a struggling plant. Just keep adding suitable organic material every so often - don't cover the original level and make it too high though. Rotted manure, good quality compost, leaf mould etc. A layer of bark is good too, as that will also give a goo dfinish, and will break down and be beneficial.

The rootball in the 1st pic [yesterday 10.27pm] looks tiny, unless the photo is a bit misleading. Those roots should be much more spread out. I just looked again and it's been there for 6 years - the root system should be far bigger than that after six years. I'm wondering if that's been the real problem. A pot bound shrub or tree needs the roots teased out properly before planting or they just keep going round and round instead of spreading. That also means that any water doesn't get absorbed properly.

 

I have a vague recollection of reading (or hearing) that the main food-and water-absorbing roots of a tree are around the "drip line" of the canopy. I might be mis-remembering or it might just be rubbish (there's a lot of it about!) but if it's right, it does make sense because the leaves will tend to block rainfall from the area under the canopy when the tree is in leaf. It would also mean that paving around a tree is a really bad idea unless it's something water-permeable.

 

The planting space with poor drainage is not suitable for a Rowan. After 6 years the roots have reached their limit and it is now suffering from cycles of drought and waterlogging. It needs to be relocated elsewhere. Even a very large pot with adequate drainage would give it more chance of survival.

 

It’s a great pity you do not have somewhere else to move the tree to. It is smaller than the trees I bought bare rooted so would move. Agree with @fairygirl, don’t feed it. Now seeing the space it has before it hits the wall it really is not a suitable location at all I hate to say. Is there nowhere else you could locate it to? It looks as though the tree could well have been pot bound when purchased. Instead of the roots spreading outwards and down, they could well just be going round and round not good. Appreciate you are trying your best but I fear you are wasting your time and effort.

 

If you could remove another slab either side, that would probably help, but I agree with @hailbopp that it's essentially a case of 'wrong plant, wrong place'. Something that's been in situ that length of time but has been pot bound when planted, can be very difficult to amend, so it comes down to whether you want to get rid of it [or move it to a better site] or just leave it until it pops it's clogs naturally and then find something more suitable for the site.

I've moved rowans of that sort of maturity without problems, and the root system is far bigger and wider, but they have very easy conditions here to grow and thrive. They're also easy enough to move, but if you don't have a suitable site, it's a bit pointless.

 

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I can move it to work as we have a neglected garden that it can have loads of space!
I may try move it shortly and look for a replacement

 

Please don’t move it yet. Wait until it has dropped all its leaves and is dormant. This should be about November time. It can then be moved any time really between then and about the end of February.

 

Happy to hold off! Thanks for the advice.

 

Take the time to prep the new area, and also tease out those roots when you replant.
It's definitely a better idea to wait until autumn, as @hailbopp says. It's easy enough here where I am to move things in summer, but better safe than sorry in the area you're in.
That also gives you time to think about a replacement for the spot you have, but It won't be easy to have something thriving well without amending the space and the ground.