based on the pic provided... i have no opinion

Here's some photos

Given that the tree is less than a year old, I don't think you have provided enough water. Assuming you are on Long Island (there is no place else in NYS that is Zone 7b), you have been dealing with moderate drought conditions for July, August, and into September. Plus, it was rather dry in the Spring of the year. In this year, given it was on a slope as well, don't think you were overwatering. I also would not be too concerned with the lowest branches dying. Trees and shrubs are not really considered established until after about three years.

Sorry but I think this looks like it is going to go on to turn entirely brown and dead. If you try another later see if you can find a smaller one, be sure to mulch it after planting and keep it watered during dry periods.

well.... we can rule out lawn weed spray .. lol ...

can we rule out dog???

i can see the off color embo speaks of.. but mid day pix often cause weird colors in pix ...

take a had trowel ... dig out... past the root mass planted ... and find out.. the status of moisture.. at the 4 compass point.. 3 to 6 inches down ... [one of the 4 should be into the root mass planted ... if you left very divergent media when planting ...]

if damp ... its not a water issue...

if sodden... its a water issue ....

if bone dry ... its a water issue ...

you really cant guess about watering ... you have to find out.. and the only way.. is to dig a few holes ... there has to be moisture.. down in the root zone ... surface moisture is useless ...

and while you are there with the trowel .... pull back the soil at the trunk.. and find out where the root flare is ....

maybe a pic after dinner .. in not so brilliant sun.. will give us a better idea of its color .... the green part ...

ken

Here's some photo closeups of the tree.

Hi Stuartlawrence, I wish someone could do a survey on those large, PRICEY, MPTs and find out what percentage survive in the East. I'm guessing about 1%. Afterall, they are grown in Oregon and shipped across country in the Spring. If you planted it in Fall of 2014 that means it sat in a wholesale yard for several months. The health of your tree is revealed in the current season's growth which according to your pics is not good. I know that you saw subtropix' thread on this subject and read all the comments there. When I was in Chile I saw a porous soil that reminded me of Captn Crunch Cereal. Very well-drained! The hot, humid, sultry summers in the East are the death of MPTs. BTW, if you decide to try again by all means start small and give it plenty of room to grow, don't crowd it.

Now a request, get us a pic of that 40' tree on L. Island that you mentioned earlier and post it here.

I don't know about 40 foot monkey puzzles, but I don't think yours actually looks that bad. I mean, have you seen big ones growing in ideal climates..., they all look lanky if you ask me! Give it another season or two, and in the meantime, do not neglect watering. We are heading for yet another hot and dry period in coming weeks. I would also get rid of the weeds around it and mulch. Good luck!

"What am I doing wrong?"

Living in New York. Move to the west coast with your tree :-)

Resin

I don't think yours actually looks that bad

There is browning and dullness appearing all the way to the top. Typically with these that means the next thing is an entirely brown tree.

Agree, brownish-green now, brown soon.

What's particularly striking is how sparse the branches are - long internodes, and few side shoots on the branches. Usually they're much denser-crowned than that. Here's a more typical example.

Resin

If it dies, you can always hang a bird feeder on it. Squirrels can't climb a Monkey Puzzle Tree very well. Same for a Cunninghamia lanceolata. Once they get to the spines, it's a no-go.

Mike

Ditto to the bird feeder idea. I've got a dead MPT (who doesn't!), and the spines don't fall off like the needles/leaves of other dead conifers. In fact, I kind of enjoy the dead, brown, unchanging oddity just sitting there. I'm thinking about keeping it until it finally just falls down, or the spines do eventually fall off.

The browning worsened after I watered the tree. Is there any chance the Monkey Puzzle could survive and recover?

I think it is dead or close right now. If you dig into the original root-ball you may find it is dry inside, despite watering - or the one watering had no effect on the general situation for other reasons, such as the tree already having been lost. Sparse habit does not look aberrant to me, in fact other example shown looks more squat and uneven than usual, with more than one leader.

Mine is a little on the sparse side because it's in the shade of a Lawson cypress and in very good, moist soil. I was going to move the cypress, but that didn't happen and now it's too late.

Mike

Mine is a little on the sparse side because it's in the shade of a Lawson cypress and in very good, moist soil. I was going to move the cypress, but that didn't happen and now it's too late.

Mike

The fact that the toy hasn't moved since proves that monkeys are indeed puzzled by this tree.

This thread is almost tempting me into trying to grow one of these beasts. Just to say I could.

But I still insist they make the most sense in large municipal gardens/arboreta, or huge (> 5 acre) private gardens where the potential "death zone" they create doesn't take up proportionally too much real estate. (Isn't there a rumor that the cones can be deadly as they fall?)
According to one of DC's most locally renowned rare plant collectors - among the 25 people or so in the world who are aware of such arcane things - there are several maturing in Silver Spring, MD. Named, as it turns out, after the mica schist in the spring that gave it silvery flecks as it bubbled up. This makes the soil extra well draining in that area compared to the upper south's typical clay soil. I told him I was still skeptical. I think the east coast survivors are just rare phenotypes that can tolerate most of the "outrageous fortune" of our climate.

(Isn't there a rumor that the cones can be deadly as they fall?)

No; that's Bunya Araucaria bidwillii where the cones fall whole and can be dangerous. MP cones break up on the tree and fall as a shower of loose seeds, so are harmless.

Resin

I believe the cones fall apart like Abies.

My MP is way too young for cones.

Mike

Isn't there a rumor that cones can be deadly as they fall? Can we put that rumor to rest? Cones of MP Trees just like Abies & Cedrus disintegrate when mature and fall to earth bit by bit. I saw the Indians in Chile hit the cones with sling shots and WOW did the cones shatter. They collected seed by the bushel. (so why is it CITES listed?)

Apart from it being rather limited in distribution there are disease problems making inroads.

Seeds of female specimens in my area attract humans - and rats - at dispersal time.

Oh dear, have I confused my Araucariaceae?

"Can we put that rumor to rest?" I'll notify pagesix.com at once!
But seriously, just cleaning up any fallen branches, since they are like conglomerations of thousands of box cutter blades, would be a major hassle. No thanks, I'll pass. But as I've said before, it's a duty of every major botanical collection that can grow one (to maturity) to have one, just so Joe And Jane Q Public can be aware such a ridiculous tree exists in this world. Except maybe in places like England where they are already common.

"But as I've said before, it's a duty of every major botanical collection
that can grow one (to maturity) to have one, just so Joe And Jane Q
Public can be aware such a ridiculous tree exists in this world"

They look far nicer as a group than singly ;-)

Resin

Your tree is dieing if not already dead. The roots have shut down cutting off life support.

Caption for preceding photo: "Who brought the beer?".

The browning is worsening and I feel terrible that I'm losing the tree :(.

If I try another Monkey Puzzle Tree is my soil alright for it to survive? Would it be too damp? Should I add anything to the soil to increase the chances of survival for the tree?

The soil on one part of my backyard dries out quicker than the soil where my monkey puzzle is located and both areas get the same amount of sun.

If I plant another Monkey Puzzle should I mix the tree with the soil that dries out quicker?

There is a 10-12ft Monkey Puzzle Tree that's located a few blocks from where I live. The tree has been there for at least 10-15 years and was planted when it was small. Is this tree growing successfully because it was planted when it was small or is the soil different?

"The browning is worsening and I feel terrible that I'm losing the tree :(."

don't feel too terrible, if you're on the east coast, you've joined a club of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other gardeners who have failed to mature this plant in a non-maritime climate

"There is a 10-12ft Monkey Puzzle Tree"

only a handful last even to this size...where exactly (or roughly) are you? The only 3 truly mature east coast ones (though not very big as resin and bboy would hasten to point out) are in Philly, Baltimore and Bethesda, MD. I've seen them die as big as 8-9 feet after being in the ground for a few years. I'd say the one you saw still has time to die LOL.

Resin, was that pic taken in Great Britain? It doesn't look like where they grow in Chile, at least from the pictures I've seen. The ferns look like Bracken Ferns.

Mike

@ Mike - yep, northeast England, and yes, it's Bracken Pteridium aquilinum ground cover. This site is on ancient volcanic rock (the Whin Sill), so not too dissimilar soil conditions to its Andean homeland. The MP regeneration can grow through it though (this pic taken in winter):

Hi, lack of watering on your part wasn't the problem, it was the huge tree behind it. Large trees soak up huge volumes of water, and newly-planted trees haven't yet been 'adopted' by the fungus in the ground (that have now been proven to provide the water to plants that need it). Presumably if it is still alive, it is ok now (hope so). You do seem to have too many trees too closely planted in my opinion. a MP should grow to 50 feet eventually (mine is 18 feet with a 12-foot spread at 20 years) and they live to 100 easily in the right conditions. Admittedly I'm in the UK where they grow well, they say there are more MPs in Britain than in their native Chile!

Eh, no, Grae. Per the thread, still quite readable, they simply don't grow at all well on the east coast of the US. Anywhere far north enough to be sufficiently cool in summer, they can't survive the winters for the long term. (there are odd reports of one on Martha's Vineyard that dies back in cold winters. Hardly ideal) For probably 40 years at least, fancy nurseries from DC to NYC have "imported" them from PNW wholesalers. Scarcely any over 4m in size are known. Almost all eventually die. In fact the one surviving in Silver Spring, MD, is in a somewhat shaded spot, and I believe that's true of the Baltimore tree too, although I haven't seen it in person. "Large trees soak[ing] up huge volumes of water" is probably beneficial for the survival of a summer dry species, when trying to grow it in a climate where tropical storms can drop 20cm+ of rain at a time! Coupled with extremely high temperature, it fuels the root rot organisms that kill them.