Newly planted emeral green arborvitae turning brown -- pls help!

8 years ago

I planted a 9' tall balled and burlaped arborvitae that I purchased from my local nursery about 2 weeks ago. I am using it as an accent piece at the end of a flower and shrub bed that is gently sloping.

I live in Seattle (Zone 8).

Since planting the tree two weeks ago, the tips of the foliage have started to turn brown and the tree overall seems less "vibrant" -- kind of droopy foliage compared to when I purchased it.

The garden bed I planted it in consists of about a foot deep of imported organic rich topsoil (purchased in bags from Home Depot) over hardpan silt with some chunks of gravel (kind of like glacial till -- difficult to dig). I dug a hole about twice the diameter of the root ball and about the same depth as the height of the root ball, and filled the hole with water. It took about 20 minutes to drain. I figure since the whole site is on a slope, the water soaks in and then drains downslope on top of the hardpan layer.

I removed the burlap, set the tree in the hole, and backfilled around the rootball with the topsoil that I had dug out, and packed it down around the root ball with the end of a shovel handle. I backfilled to the top of the root ball and put a couple of inches of bark mulch around the roots. I watered it well after planting.

It has been pretty dry and warm these past couple of weeks, so I have been watering it around the roots for about 10 minutes straight every day or every other day. The tree is pretty much in full sun, with some afternoon shade from an adjacent 6' tall fence.

I feel like I did everything right but apparently not, because it is turning brown. Am I over watering? Under watering? Wrong soil? Did I plant too deep (I'd say the top of the root ball is about even with the surrounding grade). I watered it last night at dusk, and at lunch time today I poked my finger in the soil and it seemed plenty moist. I found it interesting that the root ball after I removed the burlap was almost pure clay, slimy clay like you would make pots from.

Should I dig it up and try replanting it? Or would that shock the tree even more?

Featured Answer

RugbyHukr

8 years ago

Maybe dig it out and get as much clay out of the roots as possible then replant.

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Comments (8)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
Was the rootball thoroughly moistened before planting? If not, that can be a problem as no matter how much you water after planting, that clay rootball will remain dry and is very difficult to rehydrate. Other than that, it sounds like you did what you should have, although it never hurts to plant high (slightly above grade).

I'd check first to see if that rootball is adequately hydrated. If it appears to be, then try watering with your hose on a slow trickle for an extended length of time - 20-30 minutes. During this stretch of very hot, dry weather, I'd recommend every other day but as temps moderate, a couple times a week should be fine.

btw, B&B stock is almost always grown in heavy clay. It makes it easier for the growers to harvest and stays compacted around the roots.....or what's left of them :-)
cashmang thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
a nine footer??? .. two weeks ago ... from a NURSERY .. in the PNW???

contact your seller and ask his opinion ... i can NOT believe it is not warrantied ...

we NEVER know how brutalized the root mass was.. on the BB process ...

there may simply be no roots left???

ken
cashmang thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
Not a great idea to remove the clay holding together a B&B rootball. It must be done very carefully to avoid destroying what fine feeder roots may be present after the general root scalping most B&B stock undergoes at harvest. And now is certainly not a great time to attempt this delicate operation.
cashmang thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
cashmang
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you all for the replies and thoughts. When I removed the burlap, the clayey root ball seemed very moist, so I believe it was adequately moistened. I have since placed a soaker hose in my garden bed (under 2-3" of mulch) with a full loop around the base of the tree, so we'll see what happens with soaking for a longer period of time rather than 5-10 minutes of direct hose spray.

I also want to note that I planted a new rhododendron immediately adjacent to the emerald green about 2 weeks ago, and I just noticed today that the rhody appears to have a disease, which looks an awful lot to me like phytophthora ramorum. I think I have heard that arborvitaes are also susceptible to this disease.

Do you think there might be a connection between the rhody and the arborvitae? I am probably going to pull that rhody out and bring it back to the nursery where I got it, as it was only a few weeks ago. I posted photos of the browning arborvitae foliage, and of the rhododendron.
cashmang
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Photos:

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l97/BenWA_01/20150609_155300_resized.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l97/BenWA_01/20150609_155316_resized.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l97/BenWA_01/20150609_151839_resized.jpg
cashmang
Original Author
8 years ago
Update: I went to the nursery where I got the tree and told them about my problem, and they said that they have a 6 month guarantee on their arborvitaes (thanks for the thought Ken!). The nursery owner said that they have been having trouble keeping their B&B stock alive with the heat spell that we have been having ever since the trees were delivered to their nursery a few weeks ago. He said that sometimes the rootballs are cut very small (as others here have suggested) with almost nothing left and that it's often just a balancing act of keeping the tree alive until new roots begin to take. In any case, I have almost 6 months to try to nurse it along, and if I'm not successful I can get a replacement. Thanks again to all those who replied!
Red Mittens
3 years ago
Curious what happened to your trees since your last update. Have they revived or did you have to replace them?

Newly planted emeral green arborvitae turning brown -- pls help!

RugbyHukr

Comments (8)

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Comments (8)

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