Clay in root ball, evergreen wont take water.

17 years ago

I recently planted a Lawson Cyprus (Van Pelt). Despite watering, the shrub is drying out and dying. Other trees purchased and planted are not showing same distress. I contacted the nursery to determine if I was doing something wrong since this is my first evergreen. They said that the root balls of those plants seemed to have a lot of clay in them and are shedding water instead of absorbing it. They offered to either replace or refund as long as I return the shrub.

My question is this, do I take another of the same shrub with the clay ball and pick it up and plant it in September when the weather is cooler? Would it be okay to break the root ball and pack it with new soil or would it be a bad thing to disturb the roots that much? Or should I just pass on that group of plants and either take something else or wait till another bunch comes in.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I really love the deep blue/green of this evergreen and want to be prepared to select something else if need be.

-candace

Featured Answer

katrina1

17 years ago

immediately use a pitch fork to dig out the evergreen. immediately set it in a pail of water. After a few hours, use a garden hose to wash off as much of the softened clay as possible.

If no roots are exposed put the shrub in a pail of water again for a few hours. Take it out of the water and wash away as much softened clay as possible.

As soon as a significant amout of roots are exposed, plant the shrub into a pot which is at least 2 - 3 inches wider on all sides of the rootball. First put some good potting soil in the bottom of the pot, set the clay rootball with some exposed roots in the pot onto the potting soil. Then fill the sides of the pot with the same good quality potting soil you used in the bottom of the pot. Water throughly by pouring 5 gallons of water into the pot each day. Within a week or so, you should find that the clay in the root ball has begun to soften.

If the root ball you potted still had a significant amount of clay after the intial washing off of softened clay, then remove it from the pot once more after that last watering has softened the clay and wash that softened clay off. Repot the shrub once again as before and fill the bottom and sides of the pot around the rootball with good, well draining potting soil. Water the tree daily, and use a soil moisture meter to be sure you keep the moisture around the roots at a moisture level of 2-3 if your meter has a moisture range indicator of 0-4.

If the shrub begins to look stressed decrease and maintain the moisture level around the exposed roots at a 1-2.

If the summer heat subsides in early September, unpot the the shrub, wash off the potting soil around the roots and transplant the shrub in it's final garden or landscape spot. If your area experiences early in the fall freezes than during the planting time, it might be a good idea to use a root stimulater which is made especially for your evergreen's needs.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
17 years ago
An alternative idea that might help....build a 4" tall 'dyke' around the tree, maybe 16" diameter, and fill it with water. The water will soak into the rootball and the tree will get the moisture it requires AND you don't have to stand there for an hour spinkling a little bit of water at a time, waiting for it to soak in.

If you do that twice a week for the remainder of the season and once a week in the cooler fall, your tree should be well on its way.

Simon
better2boutside
Original Author
17 years ago
I plant all of my trees/shrubs using a small "retaining" wall to hold water. Did not work with this shrub. I even put mulch around the area to prevent water from evaporating. That is why I thought that breaking the root ball might help.

-Candace
Related Discussions
Landscapers planted tree with root ball six inch above ground.
Q
Comments (31)
There is one more item to be aware of. Many landscape trees are grafted onto a rootstock. Where this graft was done, there is typically a swollen portion of the trunk which can be mistaken for the root flare. If this mistake is made, the root flare will still be buried too deep. We've had B&B trees come in that had as much as twelve inches of soil piled up on top of the root flare. Some times, roots have grown into this soil and need to be removed when planting, again so that correct depth is achieved. Truth is, I'm really tired of B&B trees. All you're really buying is some dirt from the nursery. There aren't more roots retained when trees are handled this way. Usually fewer, actually. One advantage though, is the ability to plant B&B stock throughout the growing season rather than just when the tree is dormant, as is the case with bare root stock. In all other respects though, I believe bare root to be a better choice when available. And yes, tis true that most of our beloved conifers are only available in B&B or potted, with the exception of seedlings. +oM
...See More
I have heavy clay soil, and raised beds won't work. Do I amend
Q
Comments (13)
Many kinds of maples are adapted to heavy soils and are planted in them by the thousands, as along streets for instance. It is the Japanese maple that is unusually touchy about drainage. If this planting site is big enough your best bet would be to excavate the clay soil and replace with lighter soil. If it is a narrow strip and the area becomes quite wet even that may not work, water coming in from the sides. Planting a tree or shrub over loosened soil is not a good idea because as the soils settles after planting the new specimen may sink to a level below the desired depth. Digging organic matter into a heavy soil will not have a lasting effect on the texture of the soil as the organic matter will gradually decompose and disappear. Even when non-decomposing amendments such as sand are used to alter the texture of backfill if the planting area is a small one there will still be the problem of how water moves into and out of the planting area being affected. Small areas of one soil texture surrounded by a much larger area of another are often a setup for problems. A large bed of soil amended with sand or similar material will also pose the problem of what to do when the dug over area rises up like a loaf of bread after the amendments are dug in - unless a soil already has a fairly high sand content a huge amount must be used to alter the texture of the finished bed significantly. If you can't excavate and replace a wide area of soil there or put a layer of more suitable soil over the top then it many just be that you can't safely plant Japanese maples in that particular spot. However, since you are in a fairly mild climate zone possibly it would be acceptable to plant them in suitably large tubs and place these on top of crushed rock or other covering in the same location.
...See More
Clay soil, shade and a huge evergreen tree
Q
Comments (9)
Epimediums are just expensive everywhere. With my limitted knowledge on this genus, I seem to remember Bandit as being an especially good selection. I really don't think you were taken to the cleaners for that little plant. Grandiflorums seem quite variable in their hardiness, so keep your fingers crossed with 'Bandit'. After this winter, with all my epi's surviving in the very exposed and snowless location, I am convinced that dry soils increase their hardiness. So that should be a plus for you. They do take a bit of time to become established. Rebecca, I've never heard of anyone starting epimediums from seed, except for breeding purposes. Rick
...See More
Help - Planted Japanese Maple with Hard Soil on Root Ball
Q
Comments (7)
EJR - I've advocated for the bare-rooting of trees at repot and transplant time for years, for the same reasons that Dr Scott mentions. I think though, that there are some broader considerations to take into account, aside from simply removing the soil from roots and transplanting as we please. Timing is an important consideration. It's best to repot and transplant temperate deciduous plants when they are not in leaf. Removing the soil from roots is often rather traumatic to fine, feeder roots. Many break, others, if you're not careful, quickly die from dessication, which takes only minutes on dry windy days, especially if you're working in the sun. The stress of summer transplants often sees trees shedding parts the roots cannot support, a survival mechanism in response to drought stress. While the idea you should prune the top in proportion with the roots at transplant/repot time is passe, it may actually be required if you attempt bare-root transplanting when conditions aren't favorable. You see, if WE don't select the branches/foliage to be 'shed', the tree will select them for us, and they use a different standard than the one we would choose - which is generally one based on appearance/symmetry. To minimize stress, I would wait until the tree loses its foliage; then I would lift, bare-root and transplant at an appropriate depth, back-filling with native soil. Al
...See More
Filbert
17 years ago
I recently bought a mail order plant from a reputable grower that came with instructions that recommended adding a little dish soap to the water if the soil didn't readily absorb water.
anitamo
17 years ago
I always break up the root ball of all my container plants.
sam_md
17 years ago
Katrina1 has given very carefully written instructions as to her recommendation. There is only one problem, they are irrelevant.
The poster is on Long Island. Temps here were 95 degrees F yesterday and expected to be 98 F today with humidity you could take a bath in, I imagine the same on Long Island. We have had abundant rainfall throughout July.
Isn't it possible that just the opposite problem exists, too much water? Clay particles hold water better than any other soil type. Can Lawson Cypress tolerate wet feet? We know that they are subject to soil borne fungi. Why didn't the other plants in clay decline? Will Lawson Cypress grow on Long Island? I know it does very poorly in Mid-Atlantic.
What Katrina doesn't understand is that shrubs loose moisture through their foliage. When roots loose contact with soil, they cannot function until contact is re-established. Washing soil off of rootball in the middle of the "dog days" of summer is surely not the answer.
Sam

Clay in root ball, evergreen wont take water.

katrina1

Comments (6)

Smivies (Ontario - 5b)

better2boutside
Original Author

Related Discussions

Filbert

anitamo

sam_md

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Clay in root ball, evergreen wont take water.

katrina1

Comments (6)

Smivies (Ontario - 5b)

better2boutsideOriginal Author

Related Discussions

Filbert

anitamo

sam_md

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

better2boutside
Original Author