Hi Terri. I have fast-draining soil too. I read somewhere that for especially fast-draining soil (like sand) , you should not try to deep-water your plants because it is a futile endeavour. If the soil drains super fast, like sand, then there is no point in trying to water the plants deeply, because all the water drains away. So I water my plants more frequently, but with less water. And I mulch like crazy.

I would think that the up-side to fast draining soil is that the plants roots could spread farther and faster, parts of my yard is like that and I have killed plants from not watering frequently enough until they get established.

Well I never thought of it,like that.

Thanks,

Terri

Mulching is the answer.

your soil drains properly.. add nothing ... but proper mulch ...

you might want to put in a moat.. so that you can lay down about 5 gals of water.. and walk away.. letting it soak in ...

and they should near dry .. in between waterings..

my glacial sand drains faster than yours... and i doubt.. once properly soaked in.. and properly mulched .. i need to water.. more than once every 7 to 10 days ...

it all might be addressed in this link

ken

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1827881/how-to-transpalnt-a-conifer-tree-huge-pix-post

Well this is starting not so great.

The delivery guy dropped the tree off the bed of truck 2 foot drop. At least he had a dolly to move it. To the hole. The tree was not damaged but what about the root ball?

This is my 2nd and LAST b&b tree. How do I check out the roots and fix them after they are in the hole? I can see a couple of thick ones sticking out that have been cut and look dead.

I really wish I could wash all the clay odd the roots and look at them but that's a no-no right?

Finally, the hole is too low and my soil has 2 layers, somewhat mushy low grade topsoil and sandy rock filled gravel.

smaller is better.

Terri

Terri, not that I want to add to your woes, but p[lease do not assume the top of that "rootball" is a good guide as to depth of plant at planting. Simply put, much soil often gets heaped up around trees in the nursery as the nursery owner cultivates around them for weeds, etc. This results in a root ball with no bearing on the plant's root flare. That feature-the root flare-is the one and only true guidance as to proper planting depth. To wit, it should be planted such that the root flare is plainly visible, just slightly above finish grade. And any loose soil underneath this rootball is apt to settle and sink, thereby leaving the tree planted too deeply once again. So, in cases where a tree planting hole has been dug too deeply, it is recommended that you place soil back into the bottom of the hole and tamp it down with your feet so it is re-compacted.

+oM

wow, sorry about that. I will echo what was said above: don't plant too deeply.

I agree - don't plant too deeply as it opens up the trunk to such things as insects and fungus. Try to amend the soil with compost for water retention purposes but not too much as the tree roots need to anchor itself eventually. it will need very frequent watering for the first year until the root are well established. Do you have a timed water sprinkler so you don't have to water it yourself everyday.. Other than that, use a bladder which you can fill in with water and it should just drip water throughout the day. I think it will last a few days between refilling.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/page.aspx?p=45922&cat=2,2280,54307

Make sure after planting to water the tree so completely that there are no airpockets because if that happens, in winter ice could happen and kill the tree.

oops.. I meant this.. http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/page.aspx?p=59394&cat=2,2280,54307

Terri, Hopefully the wire basket saved your rootball from the drop. Ive seen rootballs cracked in half and some cracked in quarters that never had a chance. It snaps too many roots when that happens. It already looses alot of roots when it was dug up initially. No mater what you backfill with, the key is gonna be to soak that rootball thoroughly when water is needed. I like to leave a hose without a nozzle, trickling right over the trunk of the tree and let it get good and saturated..... All the best

Al

ROOTBALL one side.

I would te-title this post "The hard way" if I could.

I did not find the root flare. I did find the largest root and it was at the very bottom of the original rootball. I am going to dig again tomorrow to look for the root flare. I did not find a single thick root that wasn't dead on the ends. So I removed the ends on the ones I found to the live part.

It sunk in the hole quite bit after watering and it seems to be staying wet unfortunately. So still more work to do. I am doubtful this tree is going to survive this transplant.

Terri

After washing the majority of the clay from the rootball, I found the flare. And yes, it was covered by about 2 inches of clay. Directly underneath the trunk in the center of the tree, it was still rather dry. I left some of the clay with the fibrous roots in it alone. I back filled and heavily soaked it. This was done yesterday.

Applied mulch today while watering and it is wilting. There is even some brown where ther wasn't any before. I can't believe I all this work just to watch it die.

Terri

Terri, Oh gosh..that's just a lot of work. I would have just plunked down the tree into the hole and covered it up. It order to keep the tree steady, you could plunk down 2 stakes on either side and with a rope and pieces of hose, keep the tree in place. Anyway, your plant may go into root shock and that means it will wilt. Hopefully it will recover - so keep it moist but not drowning.

The Myth of Collapsing Root Balls

http://puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda%20Chalker-Scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/B&B%20root%20ball.pdf

It appears the clay mixed with the native soil to make a mushy stay wet situation. The tree canopy is quite low and full which locks the cool air in, a good thing.

I believe the soil should be on the dry side of wet (not sure if that makes sense) before watering it again. It's definitely not too dry. I dug into the middle next to the trunk again and it is moist. I also poked holes randomly around the rootball with a weed poker thingy.

Done messing with this tree. She lives or dies with water, that's it.

Terri