Thanks gardengal48! I planted twelve 3ft brandon cedars about 4 weeks ago. The first week I was hand watering the base of the tree with the hose everyday for about 10 second a tree. I couldnt see any water pool up the soil was taking itas fast as I could give it. The very tips of the tree started to turn really light green. I called the place I purchased them from and he said they are probably getting too much water and to dial the watering back to once a week and really really soak them. I've been doing this and now I can see that down low on the tree it's starting to go a dark slight gray color and there are sprouts that are dry and not continuing to grow near the bas as well. The very tops of the trees look good and healthy. Am I being too paranoid? I have excellent soil where I live. It's deep black fluffy soil half inch down to about 18" then it's sand. I've never seen my soil dry more then 3/4" down before

Out here in Illinois, about 2 miles from Lake Michigan with heavy clay soil, my local nursery recommended planting the trunk flare junction "even with or 1-2" inches above existing grade." I didn't understand what this meant at the time, but I'm thinking it's consistent with planting above grade, so I think I'm going to aim for that. If I'm interpreting the local nursery instructions wrong, please tell me! Here is a picture of our front bed. There is room to move the hydrangea over to the right and forward (and I think, aesthetically, it would probably be better placed there), so I am planning to do that. That will allow me to dig an entirely new hole, which, this time, I will dig only to the depth of the root ball. Depending on what the soil looks like, I plan on tilling the entire area between the old hole and new hole (or double dig) to combine the soils together. Question: If the soil very over amended, should I still do this? Or would I be better off leaving the overly amended area and just starting over in the new area? I would probably still add some amendment to the new area (adding no amendment at all makes me nervous), but I would only add about 20% cotton burr compost. And one last question on amending. The plants in the middle of the bed and scattered around are, I think, some type of onion. I am waiting for them to bloom this year, but then plan on transplanting them in our backyard somewhere. Point being: once I dig the onions up in fall, I plan on amending the rest of the bed before the fall. That was my logic for amending only the planting holes right now. Does this make any difference in terms of whether it's a good idea to amend the planting holes? Thank you, all, for the advice! (I have now been informed that the marestail at the right which had been serving as a focal point (guffaw!) is, in actuality, an invasive weed). :-) This post was edited by fampoula on Thu, Jul 4, 13 at 22:53

What the heck is that nursery stake still doing attached to the tree????? That should have been tossed before planting. And it is troubling the tree is still staked. It should be able to stand on its own by now---and probably when it was planted. Now it is all wispy and spindly and dependent on its crutches. Makes me wonder how trees ever made it in this world without you to come around and bind them to a pair of stakes? Get that grass 18" away from the trunk (unless it is St. Augustine). Scuff it off. And keep it away. Spread a good 4" thick layer of wood chips (not wood bark) around the tree out to 4 feet from the trunk. Keep it 2"-12" away from next to the trunk. This will help keep some of the allelopathic grass at bay. You might want to consider putting a cover crop (maybe red clover) in this immediate area around the trunk to keep the grass out and the mulch away. As Grant confirmed, go ahead and remove the figs this year. As Ernie said, that off week between flood irrigation you want to make sure you are watering 3 feet deep. It looks like it is shaded in morning and afternoon by the photo? If it is not shaded from about 3:30PM onward this summer try adding a western shade barrier this summer. If it helps it should perk up noticeably within 48 hours.

Your roses look to be about 1/2 dead at this time. The watering for container roses is insufficient for newly planted bare roots. If the containers have good drainage, you should be watering them about 2-3 times a week. You say you used a 2:1 mix of potting soil and perlite. Potting soil should be planting mix and less of the perlite, if any. Roses need a sandy loam growing environment. Potting mix is for houseplants, not garden plants. Cut off the dead ends of the bushes with sharp bypass shears to 1/4 inch about the new growth or a burgundy bud-eye. The cane damage is canker dieback and is often found on bare roots that are stressed for water. The ceramic containers are about the right size, I think. They should be about 24" x 24" by 30" deep for a large rose to grow to mature size in two years. Rose bushes are frost-tolerant; immature rose leaves and blooms are not. Remove any damaged leafsets. If possible the roses need to be in rising sun until about 12N in the summer then can be shaded from the afternoon sun. Roses need at least 4-6 hours of early sun in order to thrive. Too much sun and they'll bake in the container. Too little sun and they'll have twiggy growth without much bloom. Hope this information helps, Jeannie Cochell, Master Rosarian, Phoenix Rose Society