It sounds as though the sun was too much, and you may not have been watering enough for tree number one. If it had only a small root system, and a lot of leaves, it would dry out very easily. I would keep this one in the shade, with only very early morning sun, if you can manage it. You may need to water every day for a while, and then cut back to a few times a week - trees in pots can't be watered on the same schedule as those in the ground - depending on the size of the pot, and the extent of the root system, as well as the amount of sun and wind it is exposed to, a plant may need watering once a week or, more likely, several times a week. Those in full sun, and in a heavily planted pot, may need to be watered twice a day! An application of Wilt-Pruf may well help it keep going until its root system starts to grow.

BTW, keep an eye on the root system - I may be wrong, but I think beeches do NOT like getting root-bound, so it may need to be potted on by the fall.

Why is this tree in a pot and not in the ground? You don't know where you want to plant it yet?

What I would do if I could is plant the tree in regular soil, amended only with richer regular topsoil if your soil is poor and treat it like a baby--keep it well watered, give it some shade if it wilts, and if the foliage seems very full and dense, thin it just a little with some judicious pruning.

Frankly, I don't know much about the potting soil mix you are using. I have never used anything like it when I have planted a tree. But then I have never planted trees in pots--I have always just put them in the ground where I want them to grow.

--Spruce

How large is your "a very nice small specimen?"

A small specimen won't do well when put into a 24" pot. Instead, you need to start out in a smaller pot, then move into larger quarters as needed -- that is, if it is to remain as a potted plant.

I have it in a pot because where it will eventually end up is full sun from early morning until about 1 PM. This little tree will definitely fry as the other one did if I move it there right now. I figured in a pot it can move from dappled shade to a slowly increasing amounts of sun as it acclimates.

Also the root balls were very different on arrival. The sub par tree arrived with the roots in a bag of loose pine fines. The better tree actually had a very solid root ball with mostly clay type soil around it.

HEre is a picture of the new tree in the 24" pot. When I put the root ball in, there was about 2 inches of space all around the root ball to the side of the pot to put the potting mix. I thought it was a pretty good fit.

I will definitely plan to get it in the ground in the fall, I just didn't want to lose it over the summer!
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THanks for all the help and suggestions!

Alexa

Alexa, A local nursery handles all their b&b trees that have rootballs in clay exactly how you have handled this tree. That is, except for the fact that they usually do not get in such small b&b trees.

Too bad your replacement tree was not shipped while it was still dormant. I have heard that beech trees do not like to be transplanted, so maybe that is why the supplier shipped yours leafed out with a rootball in clay, which keeps the roots disturbed as little as possible.

For the size of your rootball, and the tree's height, two inches on the sides is enough for your well draining potting soil. Hopefully you put stones or broken pot pieces, or packing peanuts in the bottom four to five inches of your pot and then covered that with the potting soil prior to installing the tree and back filling the sides of the pot with potting soil. If not I would be a little concerned about mold setting up in in the bottom of yout tall pot.

The nursery I mentioned which pots up their b&b trees like you potted yours uses a pot which is not much deeper than the root ball. I find it of concern that your pot is so deep. Am I wrong, though, was your tree's clay rootball nearly as deep as your pot with only a few inches left in the bottom for you to first fill with potting soil?

Other than those concerns, I think keeping the new tree in full day, dappled shade is nearly perfect conditons for helping this new tree to prosper, until it is large enough for transplanting. At that time, you are going to transplant it just prior to it breaking dormancy, aren't you?

Only other thing, Depending on if your pot-fill drains as well as a good quality potting soil, then you should pour 5 gallons of water through the pot at each watering session. If not the roots will not have enough moisture exposure to hold the moistness they need.

A Nursery attendant has told me that the perfect way to kill a potted shrub or tree, is to water it daily, but run only a gallon or two of water through the pot each watering session. He said that the root ball need the time it takes to run five gallons of water through the pot, to be conditioned for absorbing the amount of water that the tree or shrub needs.

Only thing with running that much water through your pot each time you water, it will wash away the ferilizer. So, you must instead use a slow-release, non-burning food that is appropriate for your tree's needs.

If the tree could have been planted in the ground I would not suggest feeding it. But since it is in dappled shade, and in a pot which you must run five gallons of water through daily, I think it does need to be fed as I just described.

Oh Shoot Katarina! I did not put anything in the bottom of the pot. It is just more pine bark/potting mix. I can re-pot it today if it is important - I would hate to go to all this trouble and kill it because the potting mix got moldy. LOL!

Thanks for the encouragement on my plan. I had hoped that keeping it in dappled shade for this season would be best for it - the other one dessicated badly in the spot I planned to put it. Should I still go ahead and give it a blast of Wilt Pruf?

Also, I did't know about the watering method. 5 gallons a day huh. That is probably more than I would have given it, but I will certainly give that a try and keep my fingers crossed. You mentioned a slow release fertilizer. I was planning on using Neptunes Harvest which is what I like for all my new babies and tender transplants. It is a fish emulsion that has never burned anything I have used it on. Of course, I dilute it several times before using it (usually 1/4 the recommended strength) and it does well for my rose starts. Would that also be okay?

Thanks again for all the advice - I really appreciate it!

Alexa

hey Alexa ...

let me sum it up concisely for my hosta buddy ....

fill the pot with native soil ..... i presume the pot has sufficient holes for drainage ...

if you have heavy clay ... i don't recall ... start a new post .... we do not want your pot sitting in a cauldron full of water ....

bury the whole thing in the ground ... in the shade .... with some sun during the cooler parts of the day .... shade to protect it from the heat of the day ....

only water when your finger, inserted to 3 inches indicates that the soil needs water .... this is NOT A HOSTA .... you will kill it with too much water ... 5 gallons per watering.. may be right.. or it might be too much, depending on how water moves through your soil ... plus whatever impact from the pot ...

do not fert ...

do not amend soil ....

in fall ... after leaf fall ... move to permanent location ... no amendment ... no fert ..

properly water until one week before ground freeze, if any .... late fall .. trees grow roots.. lack of water then will be harmful .... see above about how to determine soil moisture ....

does that make it easier??

i would use the pot in my sand... so as to avoid bare rooting it in fall .. if you have decent soil that will hold itself together when you move it in fall ... skip the pot altogether ...

once the leaves fall off .... acclimation to the sun is irrelevant ....

you know my basic theory in the garden ... WE DO MORE HARM WITH TOO MUCH LOVE ... than with benign neglect .... DO NOT LOVE THIS THING TO DEATH ... get it in the ground.. don't mess with the pot, if you can avoid .... etc ... high bright shade ought to be great for a hot summer .... just like your hosta ....

and take care of it in the fall ... i am starting to repeat myself.. so its time to say ...

good luck ... ken

Aw ken - thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, we are talking VERY heavy clay. I tried the draining test - dig a big hole, fill it with water, time how long it takes to drain. 3 days. It took 3 flippin days!

Anyway, I could put it in a sunny AM, dappled shade spot for now, and hopefully move it in the fall, but I don't know if that is better or worse than just leaving it in the pot and putting it in the ground in the permanent location in the fall.

THoughts?

Alexa

Bag it. Sink some metal stakes or bent metal rods into the pot to make a frame, and then put a white garbage bag over it. Tuck the ends of the bag beneath the pot to seal it up. This will ensure that the humidity levels stay high enough to prevent leaf drop. Just don't let it sit in a sunny area or it will bake, and keep the soil moist but not wet. This method works for rooting houseplant cuttings when they have no root system at all, so I would think it should help with a new tree without a well-established root system yet.

I THINK ... always a great qualifier ... you have too much peat in the pot ....

you should have 1/3 course bark fines ... the ones on the right in the link .... and about 1/3 peat .. and 1/3 perlite ... when you water this thing.. after watering the pot should be ounces heavier than prior to water ...

too much peat.. and the pot triples in weight ... THAT WOULD BE TOO MUCH WATER retention for a tree ....

heck.. dont you have two of them.. just promise me one will go in the ground today .... and then if you kill the other ... at least one will live .... so what if it burns all the leaves off.. it will releaf .... WITH PROPER WATERING ....

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:362839}}