Save overwatered container grown plant?

15 years ago

OK, unseasonable hot and more frequent watering resulted in overwatering a 5 gal Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Wissel's Saguaro'. Still a bit of life in the foliage, root ball now damp (not soggy like it was) What can be done to help it along?

Thanks!

Barbara

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
i dont care if the roots are wet or damp ...

what do the roots look like .... black and dead.. or otherwise fresh ....

if you can NOT plant it.. to get it out of the pot... then it might be time to repot it.. into a bigger pot.. with a medium.. that will hold the water the plant needs.. but insures the shedding of excess ....

good luck
ken
barbaraincalif
Original Author
15 years ago
Roots are dark brown with structure; not black and mushy. It will get planted today...how should "watering-in" be handled?
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
i hope bboy .. or anyone in a higher zone.. will help with planting in your zone ... if not.. let me know ...

but knowing your soil type will help any answer ...

roots sound great ...

proper watering involves providing water throughout the entire root zone.. then letting it nearly dry before watering again ... providing a good mulch will help temper the weather ...

usually.. the only way to know how water moves through your soil.. is to insert your finger every few days ... drainage is the key word ....

putting aside bog plants.. plants need air in the roots as much as they need water for the plant... provide both.. and you will succeed ...

a cauldron dug in clay.. might hold the water for a month.. and most plants will die .... no drainage ... sand is the exact opposite.. water draining away in minutes ...

one soil may require watering in a few days.. other soils might hold the water for a month ... all dependent on ambient weather patterns ....

how it all works.. in your soil.. is something only your finger is going to tell you ... its what turns your thumb green .... lol

ken
barbaraincalif
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks Ken...it's in the ground and watered in with a rooting hormone and biological fungicide. My soil and irrigation are a complex story. Let's just say I do the best I can with what I've got and usually the plants grow well.

Barbara
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
15 years ago
Be aware that 'Wissel's Saguaro' is a cultivar of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana that is highly prone to phytophthera........unnecessary stresses to the plant (under OR over-watering) should be avoided at all costs. (I've lost two myself: one to transplant shock - a display garden plant that got moved once too often - and another to phytophthera). Local growers are now grafting this selection to hardier, less disease prone understock.

If the care management is very good, I personally find this unique cultivar does better in containers than in the ground, as potting media, drainage and watering can be much more closely and accurately monitored.
barbaraincalif
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for more good advice. Two have been growing in containers for a few years. Now one is in the ground and the other shall remain in a container; sounds like an experiment to me! There are some cuttings started, so all is not lost....
So, how do I get some of those C. lawsonianas that are grafted on to resistant rootstock!?!?!

Save overwatered container grown plant?

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

barbaraincalif
Original Author

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Save overwatered container grown plant?

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

barbaraincalifOriginal Author

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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barbaraincalif
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