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Looks like I killed my sand cherry

11 years ago

So this wasn't the smartest thing I ever did... but like so many dumb things, it made sense at the time.

For reasons I won't go into, I needed to move a small-- 7' or 8'-- but relatively mature sand cherry tree (it's been in the ground for 7 years). Last month my spouse and I wrestled it out of the ground and relocated it. It was right before a week of cool, rainy days, so the timing seemed good. I gave it a bit of diluted fish emulsion to encourage the roots to bounce back, and watered it on dry days. And I pruned a few broken branches but not much.

I realize now that I probably should have waited until the leaves fell off or something. It looks dreadful now. The leaves are dried out but holding on for dear life.

Is there anything I can do to help this poor tree? Or do I chalk it up to experience-- and take comfort in the relatively low cost of sand cherry trees?

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Comments (6)

Embothrium
11 years ago
Will probably leaf out again next year, unless most of the roots were lost. If you pulled it up instead of cutting out a small ball and then lifting that you may have gotten plenty of roots.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
its going on late october ... the leaves are SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE CARP ... they are going to fall off.. whether you moved it or not ...

see if you can ID the buds for next year.. that is where the life is ...

dig a hole with a hand trowel.. next to the lump of soil you moved with the tree.. and FIND OUT.. if it is damp at depth ... if not.. water deeply ...

your timing was fine.. though it is a large transplant.. PROPER WATER.. and PROPER MULCH are imperative ... and you dont mention mulch ...

the key words in your story was that you HAD TO MOVE it .. timing was close enough.. you did what you had to do.. so what??? .. insure deep water.. and quit worrying about it.. yeah i know.. that isnt going to happen... lol

ken
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whaas_5a
11 years ago
The average life expectancy on a sand cherry is 10-15 years by the way. If they exceed that they usually look horrible.

One of the most overrated, crap trees ever.

They do look nice when they are healthy though!
terrene
11 years ago
I've had a dwarf Prunus x cistena easily 15 years (brought it with me from previous house) and it was a small shrub when I bought it, so it is 15+ years old. Going strong and it is gorgeous now. It is growing out by the sidewalk, full sun, dry and sandy, no frills location. I do not even give it compost or extra water much, unlike the Buddleia nearby which definitely gets pampered. It's about 7 x 7 feet in size.

In my experience it is a rugged and drought tolerant shrub so you likely did not kill yours if it was transplanted reasonably well.

Biggest plus - flowers are gorgeous light pink and the fragrance is SO sweet, like candy

Biggest problem - tends to get eaten by caterpillars in the spring and looks a little ratty but will re-leaf and look nice by mid-summer
lmarks
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you all for this good advice.
All the other sand cherry trees in the neighborhood still look wonderful, which is what made me despair that I'd killed it. Every time I walk past a healthy one I feel so ashamed.
It is well mulched and watered, so I guess I'll see what happens in the spring!
whaas_5a
11 years ago
Terrene, don't get hooked on it! Its pushing 90 in people years!

Mine started to decline at 12 years due to borers and canker.

Just for anyone thinking about planting one...

Susceptible to a large number of potential insect and disease pests, often resulting in an abbreviated life span of less than 10 years. Trunk cankers and borers can be particularly harmful. Japanese beetles can do significant damage to the foliage. Potential additional insects include aphids, scale, leafhoppers, caterpillars and tent caterpillars. Potential diseases include leaf spot, die back, leaf curl, powdery mildew, root rot, honey fungus and fireblight. Spider mites may also be troublesome.
Source: Missouri Botanical gardens (pulled the first reliable source)

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