This is tough because the pine is going to be suffering a bit with the heat but it's also not going to want to be sitting in a pool of water. As usual, most advise here is probably going to say water when the soil becomes dry. I'd error on the side of wet given your weather(90s/100s??). I watered this morning for example and Wednesday, regardless of soil conditions I am watering again in the evening because it's supposed to be in the 90s here for a week straight. I'll pray for your pine Rose!

-Will

I'd keep it watered, too.
And mulched...with the mulch pulled back from the bark of the trunk by an inch or two.
I've lost first-year transplanted pines to underwatering, but never to overwatering.
Good luck!

Josh

Will I'll need all the "pine prayers" I can get.

Josh, I have a ton of mulch in my yard so that won't be a problem. And yes I'm always pulling the mulch off the trunks of plants after watering.

Part of me feels like Ken about planting now but honestly, I don't believe there will be many thunderheads to pick from in 2 months and I have a 6' tall dead/brown/ugly spruce in the center of my teeny yard. It's gotta go. And leaving the pine in the burlap until Sept. seems like it would be just as "iffy".

You can plant from a container, year-round. The responsibility will be that you keep it well-watered during droughts... and once a week, otherwise.

You got great-draining loam, and I'll bet the landscaper will dig a huge, hole. You're all set.

Dax

rose...Is this a potted or B&B conifer?

If potted chances of survival are far better. Just make sure he frees the roots up form being container bound.

If B&B...no wire cage or burlap left and no amendments. Mulch 2-3 inches deep. Make sure there is a 2 inch crown at the root flare. This conifer takes time to acclimate. Could look bad and brown out in places before it gets better. Just stick with it. Water when soil is dry 2-3 inches down from grade. Trickle with hose over night and then repeat the routine until Winter sets in and ground freezes.

Post an occasional photo to let us know how it is doing.

Good luck,

Dave

are we talking about jamming it in between that wood fence and trellis .... can you repost that pic ...

and how many hours.. of what kind of sun will it get .... THIS WEEK

and finally .... IS IT GUARANTEED???

ken

ok. answering above questions:

Ken yes it is guaranteed for one year. the space bet. fence and pergola is about 5/6 ft in width. sky above. posting photos here and on photo thread.

Dave it was in burlap with wire. we removed wire, removed twine, opened/cut burlap and pushed down and opened sides of roots to remove and cut up clay. hole was 2x as wide and root ball is just above ground level. added both needles and pine mulch except near trunk.

Nice looking tree!
I think the partial shade will help it adjust...
but I also think it'll fill/overtake that location!

Josh

at this time of year.. with the heat potential.. i would rig some kind of temporary shade between the fence and the trellis... for a couple weeks or so .. to keep it out of all direct sun ... to let the roots get pumping.. without the stress of sunshine in heat ....

and water it properly ... letting it NEAR dry in between watering ... IMHO.. nothing is worse for pines than too much water ....

and then... being guaranteed ... relax.. wing it ... go find something else to worry about ....

ken

The screen Ken mentioned is a good idea. It appears you have planted it correctly. I would have liked to see the burlap removed. There is a simple way to do it without disturbing the root ball but in this fast paced work environment cutting corners is the norm.

Ken...you never worried or were concerned about some of the first conifers you planted especially in your infantile days striving to become a collector/connoisseur. Boy I did... still do.

Dave

aw dave.. how sweet .. suggesting i was infantile ....lol ....

i pay.. on average.. $25 per conifer .... and if they die.. i get on with life .... though i will admit.. back when.. i was a bit more upset ...

now a newbie... who invested.. i am going to guess.. $150 to 250 ... well.. they should add some shade ...

then again... i would be holding them in the pot until proper fall planting time.. when shade or sun protection is not really the issue .....

take care old man .. lol

ken

"take care old man" .. lol

ken

I will so I can continue to advise you....lol

Dave

Ken my pine cost $119 and it's about 4 ft tall. I thought that was a pretty good price.

Will and the nursery snake oil salesman both told me the pine could fill the space in about 10 years AND I could prune it to help control growth.

It could also die in a couple of years just because that does happen. So I'm not that concerned about it over flowing it's space at this time. I think the next home owner will have to worry about that but not this newbie. ;0

so far so good. My 3 new pines (2 strobus and my gorgeous thunderhead) are doing fantastic. I know the space around my thunderhead looks small but it's larger all around then the photo looks. Anyway I'm so happy.

{{gwi:258029}}

;0
rose

Rose, you're in good shape here. It seems as though there is a few feet around the pine with some spots closer then others. Many Japanese black pines look better with a little naturalistic pruning anyway - and 'Thunderhead' grows relatively slowly, I'd guess 4-6" a year, mostly upwards in your spot. I'm glad it survived the heat and now it should be a wonderful feature plant in your yard for years. The $119 price is on the high end but reasonable considering it's probably pushing 10 years old.

-Will

Maybe a bit early to roll out the Champagne trolley, but, I'm beginning to believe that to kill a thunbergii, you have to do it on purpose(unless Pine wilt disease-to wich I think they are susceptible- is present in your area). P.strobus I'm not so lucky with.
Still,about the Champagne...give us a call on the forum...there's only a few hundred of us ! T.

The Thuderhead can handle heat no problem. I have a seven year old one planted in a similsr situation, area is about 10' wide between a house and an 8' tall Podacarpus hedge.
You will have to keep the huge candles pinched back or this tree will eventually get high, branch out above the fence and awning and then shade out the lower branches.
Likely,after many years, if not kept properly pruned all you will have to look at there is a trunk.
These are not for sure a slow or dense growing tree unless pruned (candles pinched).
Mine is already tall as the house and will but on 2+' in a year if not pruned.
Very nice tree.