Bare Root Emperor One in Transplant Shock

16 years ago

I live in the Philadelphia area and am new to japanese maples. I recently ordered a small, bare root Emperor One from a fine and reputable mail-order nursery, which arrived in beautiful condition, full of red leaves. I chose Emperor One in part because of its ability to withstand direct sunlight. The site in which I planted the tree gets full sun in the morning until the early afternoon, and then is in the shadow of the house the rest of the day.

My soil is heavy clay. Prior to planting, I added a considerable abount of gypsum and compost to the planting hole, as well as some organic "starter" fertilizer. I also added water to the hole prior to planting the tree and replacing the backfill soil. While I did not thoroughly mix the compost with the backfill soil, I did add back all of the backfill soil together with the compost.

Within about 5 days, the tree's leaves appeared limp, began to curl, and ultimately died. At present, all of the leaves have fallen, although the stem and branches are a healthy red, and green appears when I gently scratch the bark. I think it is very clear that the tree is quite alive, although in shock.

Following the nursery's advice, I have watered the tree with SuperThrive a few times, and have been trying to give it a thorough watering about twice a week, especially as it has become rather hot here.

Will the tree grow leaves again this year? Do I have a more serious problem, i.e., how do I ensure that the tree survives the summer? I have bonded with this little tree as if it were a baby and watch over it, sing to it, have read poetry to it, and have even treated it to a four-course meal at a restaurant of its choice. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

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Comments (3)

myersphcf
16 years ago
it probabably will releaf ... after the leaves are totally dried as well as the little ( TINY) stems that they are directly attached to..... the whole thing, leaf and tiny stem, should pop off easilily don't do anything til then and don't force it..under the removed area should be two new green buds ready to go ..Now here's the thing ..being out in the sun may crisp out the new leaves that come out too...but you really have no choice .
There are many here that may disagree with your area prep but I don't think that had anything to do with your leaf crisping just the hot sun and these plants were probably under shade cloth before ya got them ... bare root and partial bare root are a problem this time of year and I have come to the conclusion often best put in pots til fall or next spring.
One word of advise I'd cut back on the watering a bit and don't add any more fertilizer ... your tree has no leaves and i don't think it needs that much water at this time just keep it moist not wet.Others here may have additional or differnt advise but this is what I do and i had several trees do exactly the same both in pots and planted out with this hot late spring David
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
16 years ago
I for one am not an advocate of bare rooting Japanese maples at any time other than when fully dormant. Their roots are extremely sensitive to disturbance and the trauma of bare rooting, shipping and replanting at this time of the season is sufficient to send any JM into shock. My preference would have been to pot it up and baby it for awhile before planting out in the ground in full-on sun, specially in mid June. My nursery advocates extreme care when planting even well-established containerized or B&B maples at this time of year and our summers are notoriously late to start and NOT hot when they do arrive, if rather dry.

I think David's advice is sound. Without seeing your soil and planting conditions firsthand, it is only speculation but the amending you have done in "heavy clay" soil may be creating a poor drainage situation - too much moisture remaining in close contact with the roots and not percolating down through the soil level. Generally, if working with a heavy soil it is recommended to dig a very wide but shallow planting hole adding no amendments. Plant the tree high, backfill with the soil you removed and add the amendments as a mulch to smooth out to the top of the roots. This wide, dished planting hole will allow for adequate drainage without creating a bathtub effect of a deeper, amended hole.

Personally, after such a short period of time in the ground, I'd be inclined to lift the tree and pot up into a container where you are able to more closely monitor the amount of sun and water it will receive and give some much needed TLC. Forget the fertilizer - stressed plants are unable to metabolize much anyway. And you can add me to the list of those who think that SuperThrive (or SuperJive, as a friend refers to it) is pretty much just very well-marketed snake oil. The active ingredient (primarily B1) is present in such an infinitesimal amount and then is further diluted by water that it is providing virtually no measurable benefit to the plant.
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Just wanted to post a followup on this for anyone who may come across this thread in the future. I always hate finding a thread full of good information, but then not knowing if it actually worked or not. I replaced the trees that died, and the new ones are doing great. Here's what I did differently. (I know that for some of you, these may be the most obvious things in the world, but some of us are still learning, even from our really stupid, obvious mistakes). - I waited til it cooled down. It got cooler earlier than I expected, so I was able to do the transplants a couple weeks ago. - Smaller trees. I did still really need the height, so I went with 6-8' tall trees (some are about 9', actually), but I got much smaller caliper (trunk diameter) trees. I tried for no more than about 1.5" caliper, measured 6 inches above the root flare (some are a little closer to 1.75"). They're definitely much less full, but they'll get the job done until they fill in and grow up a little. It helps a lot that I found out that for screening purposes, eastern red cedars can be planted as close as 4' apart. Bigger, fuller trees really aren't needed at that spacing. - No starter fertilizer. These are trees, not grass. I used some Fertilome Root Stimulator & Starter solution (per the manufacturer's instructions) when I planted, and may add some Superthrive in a couple weeks, just to get the roots really going before winter kicks in. - Much better care of the root balls. I didn't make perfect root balls, as such - after reading a whole lot of back and forth between scientists on the benefits of good root balls vs taking as much root as possible, even if they're outside of the dirt, I kind of went with a hybrid approach. I got as much root as I could, and kept as much dirt on them as possible. I kept all of them covered with dirt of some type for as much time as possible, and ensured that they never actually got dry. Total time from digging to planting was less than 4 hours, and most of that time, they were in some kind of dirt. - I watered with a sprinkler for a few days, to let moisture come in through both the roots & leaves, in case the roots were having difficulty of some kind. Then I found out about Wilt-Pruf (prevents moisture from escaping through the leaves, which causes a lot of transplant shock). I applied it per the manufacturer's instructions, and am now watering with a soaker hose, as Wilt-Pruf should also prevent absorption of water through the leaves. - I haven't mulched yet (life got in the way unexpectedly), but I will be soon. Something else I came across in my reading - mulch isn't required, but most bushes or trees that are mulched in their first year or two after transplant show 20%+ more growth than those that aren't. Since growth & size are my primary goals here, it's worth having that junk in my yard for a year or two. We'll see what, if anything, will grow under these trees once they're established, but for now, it's gonna be mulch. Thanks, everybody, for all the insights provided. Hopefully these results, and what I did to get them, will be useful to someone else in the future, too.
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ajnbuxmont
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you to both of you for your very prompt and helpful responses. I examined my little maple yesterday evening and found that the tiny trunk and all branches were quite red, with some healthy green at the base of the trunk just above the crown. Indeed, when I looked under the tiny branches, I saw all over these tiny little red dots that looked to my eye to be new buds -- very much like the little swellings of new growth you see on roses in the spring. I have decided for now not to replant the maple into a pot, and will leave it where it is for the time being.

Thank you for your advice and encouragement.

Allan

Bare Root Emperor One in Transplant Shock

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myersphcf

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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Bare Root Emperor One in Transplant Shock

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myersphcf

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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