my 2 new 36' trees in serious trouble

15 years ago

13 days ago I planted a Chinese elm (36" box, 18' tall) and a multi trunk carrotwood (36" box, 12' tall)

I tried to do things perfect, here is what I did:

1) dug the holes 2x the dimension of the box (6' x 6') - this was a lot of work!

2) amended the soil with gypsum, compost and sand

3) installed "deep watering" pipes

So the crane dropped the trees into place and I wet the dirt as we backfilled the holes for the tree. At the end of the day everything looked good and I felt I did a good job.

About 6-7 days later the elm starting "drying out" the leaves were getting crispy and it just didn't look so hot. I figured this was shock from transport (covered with shade tarp in big truck) and planting shock. The carrotwood also started to sag a little and some of the leaves felt wilted.

I soaked the trees through the deep watering pipes the next day.

Jump ahead to yesterday (trees in ground for 12 days). I purchased a "Commercial moisture meter" and started probing the dirt and was shocked to find the root ball was quite dry. The perimeter around the root ball was wet (from backfilling and soaking) but the root ball itself wasn't.

I jumped into action and created a basin around each tree and REALLY soaked them. I also mixed in some "super thrive" with the water. Fingers crossed I hoped I caught the problem in time.

This morning I go out and check the carrotwood for wilting and it seems much better but then I notice there are many, many leaves on the ground. I look at the elm and same thing; tons of leaves dropping. As I'm standing there a GENTLE breeze blows through and 20+ leaves drop from the carrotwood. NO!!! I made the problem worse!

So now I'm super bummed out, my first big-tree experience is turning into an expensive disaster (the tree were around $350 each and the crane another $280)

My western garden book says the elm is deciduous although my neighbor's elm doesn't drop its leaves in winter. I'm hoping mine will recover in spring and regrow leaves on the old branches as well as new ones.

The carrotwood I'm more concerned about, it isn't deciduous so I'm wondering if it will regrow it's lost leaves? I can't imagine having only leaves on new growth at the tips, that will look terrible.

Are my trees as doomed as I think they are? Is it possible they will come back and be fine? Is there anything I should be doing to help them? My dad says I should gently spray the leaves (scion?) at night because some trees can absorb the water this way and it might help them while their new roots grow, is this true?

Will I need to cut back the carrotwood to stimulate new growth? Once massive leaf drop like this starts does it go all teh way until there are no leaves?

Please help, I'm really upset about this, what was supposed to make my front yard look beautiful has turned into the joke on the block.

Any info very appreciated.

-Steve

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Comments (7)

hosenemesis
15 years ago
Oh no!
The nursery should have told you to wait until October to plant trees in So Cal.

Don't cut or trim anything! Keep them moist for at least the next two weeks. Can you get any shade over them or are they too big? If you have a big patio umbrella you may want to shade the carrotwood until the weather cools.

I have never heard about this spraying of the leaves. I would not spray them during the day, though, if you decide to do it.

I believe both of these species are pretty tough, so I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Others may chime in with better advice, as well, so keep checking. You may want to cross-post in the California Gardening forum for even more feedback.
Renee
jean001
15 years ago
Using your "deep watering pipes" pipes is missing the critical area.

And yes, the rootball is dry. The reason -- that's where the roots are. They haven't yet extended outward to take advantage of your deep watering pipes.

And unfortunately, the water from the deep watering pipes won't move into the rootball. Better to apply the water to the top of the rootball and soak into the root mass.

For now, and probably a year or more, make certain you water on top of the original rootball.

Use a drizzling hose or, easier yet for such a large rootball, a soaker hose on a mechanical timer.
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teeka0801(7aNoVa)
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that was my experience last June when I planted two magnolias in June here in Central Florida.

You need to water twice a day and I was told to do it for six months.

Of course, you can miss a day here and there but it is critical that you really fill up the berm around the root(or the basin) or what I do is put the hose on very slow trickle and let it go for 45 minutes, twice a day.

teeka
sklett
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi all, thanks for the comments.
I understand about the root ball and the need to get water into it. It makes perfect sense and I feel foolish for not doing it.

I will water the trees regularly to get them through this tough time.

I will post pictures maybe later this evening, it seems that several people do that here and I like reading a post where I can see the actual plants people are describing.

-Steve
sklett
Original Author
15 years ago
Update: My trees have not died although one is ugly and the other is very, very ugly. Hopefully they will bounce back in spring.

I have a new issue with the carrotwood, it's leaves have started to develop yellow areas. I know there can be many reasons for this, but I hoped that by posting some photos some of you may have an idea or two.

The photos can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveKlett/MiscHouseStuff#5271535455132451090
http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveKlett/MiscHouseStuff#5271535460938705842

Thank you for any tips or info you may have.

-Steve
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
hey steve...

i have no clue what to advise you in SoCA ... its a foreign land as far as i am concerned in z5 MI ... lol

but i hoped you learned one thing.. buying bug IS NEVER advised ... if budget is a concern ...

buy the biggest thing you can get in the car/truck .. and in 5 years time.. it will be bigger than buying big.. and waiting for them to get re-established ...

you will pay 1/3 the cost.. and avoid the crane .. and it will be much easier to take care of all the variables .... smaller root ball... smaller hole... etc ....

and as noted way back when ... TIMING is everything in transplanting ... do it at the right time ... and you avoid a lot of problems with leaf burn.. etc ...

the leaves fell off every single tree in my yard in the last two weeks.. up here its called winter ... cant help you with leaf trouble down in nirvana in winter.. lol ..

good luck

ken
jean001
15 years ago
The leaf with the brown is damage from long ago. The brown is dead and won't re-green.

The yellow-centered leaves reveal the stress the tree has been under. Besides that, it's the end of the growing season and the leaves will soon drop as the normal sequence of events.

During the next several years, you will need to continue watering regularly in that interior basin, but you should gradually enlarge the basin because the roots should now be moving into the surrounding soil.

A comment about the branch with the green plastic ties around it. That bark is peeling because the underlying wood is dead. Remove that dead branch.

Jean,
who previously gardened in Long beach, CA, for 30-some years

my 2 new 36' trees in serious trouble

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my 2 new 36' trees in serious trouble

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