1. If you let the roots dry out even for a short time while it was out of the ground, it's probably done. In general, the roots from most trees should never be allowed to dry out, some trees are a bit more tolerant, I doubt oak is.

2. Unless you have extremely fast soil, e.g. corase sand, & / or your in blazing heat your very likely overwatering it. You will rot what is left of the roots in no time if it is over watered. Unless this is a swamp / river oak, it's not at all a riparian tree and will NOT tolerate prolonged flooding, especially now.

3. The amount of FINE roots on the tree will tell you a lot about if it will make it. Without fine roots it is done. If it had a good ball of fine roots that is intact, it has a chance.

4. Mulch

5. You can try a root stimulant, but that is rarely if ever the deciding factor in if something will live or not, if it was a decent transplant, a root stimulant / hormone can give it a little kick, but if you don't have any, it's not probably even worth getting it.

6. If you desperately want to try something else you could spray cloud cover on the leaves.

Jamie

** I should have said, since it is not a swamp / river oak, it will not tolerate prolonged flooding.

Sounds like you did just about all you could do with that rootball. You will need to walk a very fine line of watering and letting soil almost dry out before watering again. Transplanting this late in the season will stress it for sure. You have to make sure the roots are adequately moist but not constantly damp. Below is an article I have read a few times that indicates q. macrocarpa may handle prolonged flooding better than one might think.

Oh and please give it a large ring of mulch at least 1-2" think.

Here is a link that might be useful: Burr, SWO, and White oak flood tolerance

First, thanks for the very interesting and helpful responses!

I dug up the tree from the post-war subdivision yard it was in a day after the Chicago area received 5 inches of rain. The yard was a sticky, muddy mess and so was I. When I took it out, I laid it on a tarp, and covered the roots with soil (admittedly sticky, clay-ey soil) then wrapped it up for transport.

My yard is 100+ years old; before it was farmland, it was tallgrass prairie according to a local arborist. It looks like nice topsoil when I dig something up. It drains very quickly. Plus, the part where the tree is at gets lots of sun as there are no trees and is rather windy; there are large farmfields a few houses down. It dries out fast.

Where I took the tree out of a sticky, muddy yard, I planted it into a dry yard, one that drained quickly enough that I felt I needed to wet down the hole I dug as the soil was only damp.

And yes, I did mulch it as soon as it was planted with a ring about 2' wide. I purposely got a few bags of mulch before I dug out the tree.

So now I'll just take it easy with the watering and see how it goes; some of the leaves are starting to shrivel and drying now that it has been 6 days. This I would expect, and would think it's best to let the tree prune itself.

I will check for cloud cover and rooting stimulant, as I have several other trees/shrubs that could also benefit from them.

Thanks again for taking the time to add the great info, it is very useful.

vince

Sounds like you have a reasonable chance of having the tree make it. I've had good luck with the ferti-lome Root Stimulator, but I am sure there are other brands that work well also.

you dont need foo foo voodoo chems .. or root stimulators .. or anything but PROPER watering.. and mulch ...

probably cant hurt.. but probably useless.. if budget matters.. dont feel guilty skipping it all ...

and patience ... you do what you gotta do.. you throw the odds.. and otherwise just be patient ...

ken

I'd also personally skip the extra chems (both the Root Stimulator and the Cloud Cover).

Instead of just going easier on the water, CHECK for proper soil moisture. Use your finger or a small shovel to check your soil. The soil in and around the rootball should not be allowed to dry out, but the soil's surface should begin to dry out in between waterings.

Once again, thanks for all the info. So far the tree's larger leaves, especially the farthest from the trunk are turning dry. The smaller ones and closest to the trunk are still green and look normal. The past two nights it has rained, and the days have been partly cloudy and breezy.

The mulch is doing a good job of keeping the soil moist, according to my finger test (Thanks for reminding me of that old standby, Brandon!).

I will pass on the chems for this tree, though I have some other plantss that I've acquired similarly last fall and earlier this spring that have taken (dogwood bush, maple leaf viburnum, hawthorn tree, redbud tree, two pears), but are busy growing small leaves above and hopefully roots underground. Those I might be tempted to try to speed up with chemicals, if I can find them easily.

Yes, patience is a virtue....

vince

As a follow up to this post, the tree is still standing, but all of the green leaves are now brown, only a few have a bit of yellow or green near the stem. Some leaves have fallen off, but many are still on the tree. Ground 2" down is moist, but not wet thanks to normal rainfall.

I would like to think this should be expected with such a transplant, but really can't as easily scratch the rough bark to see if it's still green. I am curious as to what the experts say....

Thanks,

vince

this expert ???? says transplant smaller trees.. 6 foot max ... 8 foot with roots out of the ground ...

bare root ... AT THE PROPER TIME OF YEAR.. which is october after the leaves fall off.. or march.. when the the ground thaws.. and it has 4 to 6 weeks before the leaves appear ... presuming you are z5 or z6 ....

ken

Amen to Ken's statement above. I've planted several Bur Oaks over last 3 years, tho about 2' tall. It was not unusual for them to lose their leaves after transplanting and then to generate new leaves latter on. Transferring any big tree is a hit or miss affair. Good luck.

Thanks guys, especially Ken, who knows and contributes a LOT more about trees than I, hence the "expert" designation.

This tree was pretty much a "if you don't dig it out Thursday evening, we're going to cut it down Saturday morning" deal. I knew it was a hit or miss.

Though it's "big", it's growth seems to have been stunted a bit by where it was originally planted, under other larger trees. It's trunk is no larger than others I've dug up, and there just weren't very many roots to dig up with it, though I started digging 3' from the trunk. The canopy isn't much, it looks more like a tall stick with some branches growing out of it. While the leaves are brown, they're not all dry and crinkly, and they haven't fallen off.

It's interesting that Scotjute mentions that it was not unusual for his smaller trees to lose their leaves after transplanting and generate new leaves later.

Patience doesn't cost anything, and it's an interesting experiment... Thanks!

vince

Below is a link to pictures of some of my trees and plants with issues, including a shot of the aforementioned Burr Oak. Hopefully it will work and you will be able to see it....

vince

Here is a link that might be useful: Greenery

leaf damage looks like Japanese beetle damage.. you should be able to see those ... i ignore such on most of my stuff ...

otherwise .. transplant shock ... its green .... its alive.. what more can you do ...

where is the root collar on the tree ??? and pull the mulch back a bit ...

water very late into fall ... warm days.. and cool nights is prime root growing time... so make sure they are not in drought at that time

good luck

ken

Thanks Ken! The root collar is right at the soil line, where it was originally planted. It's tough to see in the photo, but the mulch is very thin near the center, and thicker (higher) near the outer circumference.

I haven't seen any Japanese beetles on the trees, but did come across some grubs earlier in the spring.

Yes, water regularly when it's dry out to keep from drying out, then pay attention to the weather forecast so I don't end up overwatering when Ma Nature adds rain. A good reminder for fall, as the soil doesn't usually freeze until December.

pull the mulch back just a few inches ... maybe two is all ..

bark is intended to be dry ... having mulch right on it.. MIGHT keep it just a little too wet ...

the roots you cut are not right at the trunk ... so if that little bare soil dries.. it isnt important enough .. as compared to the potential wet ...

ken