winter damage of some kind.. whatever that mean to you in san diego .. any cold snaps.. like the rest of us?? i will guess its evergreen for you ... those are old leaves.. and could have been damaged by the transplant.. just a little worn out.. and tired ... the future is in the buds.. and this springs budding out.. how do those look ... did you bone up on proper watering???? no tree needs water every few days... ever .. especially at depth ... water the darn tree when it needs it.. inset finger to 3 inches.. and dont water it again.. until it is dry at that depth.. or hot.. meaning it will dry soon ... dont worry about the amends.. just dont do it next time.. and never fert it ... and finally .... next time... dont buy a tree that tall.. with that wimpy a trunk ... you went a bit toward instant gratification.. rather than a strong trunked tree ... good luck ken

Hi Kitty: I'm glad you are back, I miss your tons-of-blooms gorgeous pics, and your years of experience ahead of me. When Alana in SC got sick bands from Burlington early april, this is what I wrote to Alana on April 19: "Fish emulsion is very acidic, best mix into your tap water to lower the pH for pale roses. It's great to water your roses with diluted fish emulsion, but NOT to spray the foliage. If leaves are kept wet and slightly acidic, you'll get diseases. Fish emulsion is cited as NPK is 5-2-2, with trace elements. University of Mass. research on marigolds tested chemical, fish emulsion, alfalfa pellets, or a combo. They compared Neptune fish emulsion NPK of 3-1-5, versus chemical fertilizer NPK of 20-2-20. Personally I think the marigold watered with fish emulsion looks better than others, the one with alfalfa meal is worst, very stunt and yellowish. Google that, and you'll see. Another organic way is to use blackstrap molasses, but only the Plantation brand has the highest nutrient. Plantation brand sold at Walmart has 17% potassium, 20% iron, and 20% calcium. Experiments on Soluble fertilizers showed that high potassium plus calcium yielded the best root growth, and the best flowering. Less is best with molasses. People with green plants use 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water for every 2 weeks. Since roses are tougher, 1 teaspoon would be fine. Too much sugar can make the fungi out-number the bacteria in the soil. A tiny bit of sugar stimulates the endo/ecto mycorrhizal fungi. That group of soil fungi increase the nutrients in soil, esp. phosphorus, potassium, and iron. I posted a thread on mycorrhizal fungi a month ago. " After I wrote the above to Alana, I went to find Plantation brand early April .... no luck. So I'll order low salt soluble fertilizer NPK 2-20-20 with molasses from Kelp4Less. Once diluted, that Mid-Bloom pack has 1/4 cup molasses per 50 gal., plus Myco++ fungi for best root-uptake of nutrients. If you can find Plantation Blackstrap molasses, its high iron will green up your plants. Here's the link to nutrients in different brands of molasses ... they vary widely: Here is a link that might be useful: Nutrients in different brands of molasses

Hi, Blackwell is about 95 miles straight north up I-35 at exit 224, I live 3 1/4 miles east from the interstate. E-Mail me for phone # and address. Best time will be on weekends. Gary

I just planted one Saturday and although I cannot directly answer your question, I am wondering how large your planter is. I am under the understanding that the Arbutus marina gets anywhere from 25-30 feet tall, although I have gotten alot of conflicting info. Some other things I learned in my research: The roots do not like being disturbed. so if you are planting other things with it... I am guessing they should be long term plants. Water deeply to establish and develop DEEP root system (I am thinking you would not want to restrict) Arbutus Unedo is a smaller tree, but I think it has dif. bark. In relation to what petzold said...In my community, they require (2) trees to be planted in every front yard. Our previous owners went overboard and planted alot of trees. We have had alot of problems with tree roots in the main line and have had to have it routed out about 1x per year. The plumbers say it is a common problem in our community because of the tree requirement.