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Transplant shock or dying tree?

8 years ago

Hi All,

I planted two Blue Spruces about 2months ago. At the time I planted them they were both the same color. Around 2-3 weeks in the ground one of them changed color to a slightly yellow shade (see pics) and has stayed that way ever since. Recently the one that did not change color has sprouted new growth, but the discolored spruce has not.

The soil these are planted in has a good amount of clay in it and we have had SO MUCH rain this past month that the soil has stayed squishy for most of the month.

Can anyone tell me if this is transplant shock? Or too much water due to the heavy rains? Or is the tree dying?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
where are you

how did you plant them.. did you amend the soil .. how did they come .. potted???

are you afraid of them.. or might you get a bit closer pic ... not wuite in sunshine either ... early evening would be better ...

since you did not.. buy named cultivars ... unless you failed to mention such .. there is no saying.. they will be exactly the same color ... but there should not have been a stark color change in two months ....

if ball and burlap.. we never know.. how bad the root mass was slaughtered at digging ...

can you insert your finger.. or use a small trowel.. and tell us how wet it is in there ... any chance you have ever perked your soil .. to find out drainage???

ken
Gary Monroe
Original Author
8 years ago
Hi Ken,

I'm in northern MO. The trees came from Home Depot in ball and burlap. I cut the wire frame out and stripped the burlap off the top half of the ball. I then cut four strips in the remaining burlap down as far as I could reach to the bottom of the ball to let the roots grow out. The remaining burlap still held the ball in shape but the slits exposed the roots.

I did not amend the soil but simply dug holes about 8'' past the edge of the root ball and back filled with the existing soil.

The timeline as I recall was the first two weeks I did not cover the base of the trees and hand watered them every day. After two weeks I sprinkled some Shake N Feed over the soil and then mulched them. It then rained quite a bit and the tree changed color. I then took the mulch off and scrapped away the Shake N Feed. By then the color had faded to what it is now and has stayed that way ever since.

The tags did not indicate the exact variety, and simply stated 'Colorado Spruce', but based on the expected height and width ~( 6-10'w x 30'h) I would assume they are some kind of hoopsi.

I've stuck my finger in the ground several times. Right now its wet and muddy, but this will be the first dry spell we've had in about a month.

I'll get a closer picture and post it.
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omar.. denial aside.. its septemeber in the midwest ..... in a month the plant will be dormant.. and probably leafless... and until then.. its just going to get uglier and uglier.. and bam.. nude ... just a few miles north of you ..... in my ground freeze MI .. i had to protect all my roses with rose cones for winter... and that entailed sever pruning to get them under the cones... ergo. fall is a great time to prune roses ... once sans leaves.. when you can see the structure .... it might be time for you to do some pruning to maintain proper balance for the standard your rose is on ... i could never grow roses on standards because of the cone issue... whether it is on a standard or not.. it remains a rose.. it is not.. and never will be a tree ... there are certain tree rules and ideas.. you would never apply to a rose ... and vice versa... e.g. you wouldnt prune down a tree to 6 to 8 inches every fall to fit under a rose cone... ken ps: im surprised winter sun reflecting off the pavement hasnt been an issue with sun scald...
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
so they are properly called Picea pungens ... probably seed grown .. and somewhat variable ...

i dont think you mentioned soil type ...

looks like you were within normal in most things.. i would have skipped the fert.. though its probably harmless ... unless you shook half the shaker in each hole ... they are stressed.. not hungry ...

just going to have to give it some time ... see what happens... but if it does fail ... try to get a P p 'Hoopsi' .. it will cost you some.. but you might get so excited you will cut the other down .. lol ..

ken

now this one IS blue
https://www.google.com/search?q=picea+pungens+hoopsii&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=QkVbVd2QNseCyQStpYGYAg&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=893&bih=745&dpr=0.9
Gary Monroe thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
wisconsitom
8 years ago
Gary, nothing that you mention having done jumps out at me as being the reason. Sometimes-and I know folks hate hearing this-plants just do not survive transplant. We may never know why, but it does happen.

+oM
Gary Monroe thanked wisconsitom
alley_cat_gw_7b
8 years ago
Gary, All it takes is for a kid, truck driver, employee, whatever...to drop that B n B tree one time. Or set it down hard because it was heavy. You can get those results. If you can brush off needles head for a replacement.

Al
Gary Monroe thanked alley_cat_gw_7b

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