Red oak sapling transplant - did I kill it?

[Grenfell]

Hey guys,

I've learned a lot from this forum, but evidently have a ways to go yet. :bang:

The sugar maple I transplanted a year ago is doing great, but I recently transplanted a wild red oak sapling (approx. 4' tall) and it's not doing so well. :help:

All the leaves have dried and curled up (except a few). I'm worried I may have killed it. This has happened over a period of about a week since transplanting.

I dug up a decent rootball when I transplanted and burlapped it, but during planting/positioning I lost a good portion of the delicate roots - through my own fault. I've since kept the soil moist and have watered it, but it seems the loss of the roots was too much.

My question now is whether it can recover? Will it shed the leaves now, regenerate roots and then still grow next spring - i.e. will the branches/buds survive? I can post some pics tonight if that will help.

 

[treeseer]

Moving oaks in August, by hand? Man, you are bold, even in Ontario!

Scratch the twigs with your thumbnail. As long as you see green there's hope, but I'd plan on seeing it all go dry by winter, when you can try again.

Glad to hear about lil sugar. Sure, post pics, of that, and the scratched oak twigs.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

As a last ditch attempt, do a search on "Willard water" and buy some. Water with it. Soak the ground, spray the tree. It can't hurt at this point. The stuff is amazing. It won't do miracles, but it will surprise you.

About 20 or so years ago, Congress investigated it, thinking it was a fraud and needed to be regulated They decided it wasn't a fraud, and left it alone. 60 Minutes decided to 'expose' it, and came away convinced it's good stuff.

I don't sell the stuff, I just use it. Fantastic on sunburns, too.

 

[Grenfell]

Moving oaks in August, by hand? Man, you are bold, even in Ontario!

Not sure if 'bold' is the right term here, treeseer...'foolhardy', 'impatient', and a few less kind terms come to mind.

BlueRidge - that sounds like some pretty freaky stuff! Not sure if I'm sold on the science behind it (catalyst altered water?) but I'll see if we have any around here. Thanks for the suggestion!

Here are some pics of the oak leaves. I also included a happier one, the sugar maple. It's doing quite well - very firmly rooted and leaves are a deep green, despite having had a few leaves munched off by caterpillars. Looking forward to seeing its fall color!

I haven't scratched the twigs yet, should I try that now or wait a few weeks? The leaves are getting worse by the day, there's only a few good ones left.

 

[Rtom45]

If you have the patience, pull those leaves off the oak. The leaves you show will not come back. Its pretty late in the season, I don't think the tree will push any new leaves this year. But don't give up, as mentioned earlier, if the brances still show some green the tree may come back in the spring.

 

[Grenfell]

If you have the patience, pull those leaves off the oak. The leaves you show will not come back. Its pretty late in the season, I don't think the tree will push any new leaves this year. But don't give up, as mentioned earlier, if the brances still show some green the tree may come back in the spring.

That's exactly what I'm wondering - if the tree can make it through till Spring and if the buds will survive and the tree can leaf out.

When do the buds develop? Though all these leaves are dying, I can see next year's buds already. Do they develop all summer and then go dormant around leaf-fall? Then triggered by the frozen-thaw cycle/sunlight/temperature in the Spring?

I'm also wondering if the root system can regenerate between now and then with no leaves to provide energy - is there enough stored energy to accomplish this?

I need to buy a good tree biology book...

 

[Rtom45]

For future reference, when transplanting trees of the size you mentioned, bareroot the tree rather than try to ball it. Especially in trees like oaks, at small sizes, there is not enough root system to hold a ball. If you bare root the tree you can make your cuts further away from the trunk and capture more of the root system. Just make sure to replant right away and use a good soil mixture. Sorry I can't answer some of the questions in your last post.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

BlueRidge - that sounds like some pretty freaky stuff! Not sure if I'm sold on the science behind it (catalyst altered water?)

If you can get past the hokum descriptions and marketing lingo, it's pretty straightforwared, really. Just a VERY effective wetting agent. Much more so than you are used to seeing. Perfectly safe for human consumptions, and makes Roundup really go to town.

but I'll see if we have any around here.

Order it from one of the online sources, or check with your local health food stores.

 

[treeseer]

The oak looks like toast. you can scratch anytime you can handle some bad news. yes it can grow roots even if leaves are gone.

I agree w Rtom on barerooting.

Taht is one tall sugar maple! Nice work!

Will Willard's water grow my hair back?

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I dunno - I haven't heard that claim. One thing I know for sure, though, treeseer...

It will NOT make you good looking! :biggrinbounce2:

 

[treeseer]

It will NOT make you good looking! :biggrinbounce2:

Yes I know it cannot make me good looking ...

Cuz I already yam! :monkey:

 

[Grenfell]

lol...you guys crack me up.

I agree w Rtom on barerooting.

Taht is one tall sugar maple! Nice work!

Thanks everyone for the replies. Looks like this one may be a goner. Live and learn I suppose. BlueRidge - seems the water may not help at this point?

Re:maple - well, I owe lots of thanks to you guys for helping with the sugar maple. I've always loved the forest grown giants around here, so I tried to pick a tall, straight sapling that might grow somewhat similar (rather than the short, broad open-grown form).

For future reference, when transplanting trees of the size you mentioned, bareroot the tree rather than try to ball it.

What would be the best way to go about bare-rooting a wild sapling? Do you just gently brush/dig the earth away and try and pull up as many roots as you can? For the longer/main roots - do you cut them at a certain distance? I would imagine you then transport and plant asap, and try to straighten the roots radially outwards as you plant the tree?

Best time would be late Fall?

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

BlueRidge - seems the water may not help at this point?

Might not. Is it worth ten or fifteen buck to give it a try? I dunno - that's your call. If it were mine, I'd try, because I've seen that stuff do some amazing things.

 

[Rtom45]

For barerooting an oak about 4 ft. tall, just use a spade shovel and cut all around the tree about a shovel width away from the trunk. Cut the depth of the shovel, then work your way around the tree gradually prying it up til it comes loose. Once out of the ground don't be afraid to give it a good shake. Check for damaged or torn roots and cut them cleanly at the damaged spot. When you replant, make sure you're no deeper then what the tree was originally. My old boss (maaaany years ago), use to say "plant them high so they don't die". Oaks don't move as well in the fall as in the spring. Your best bet would be to move a tree in the early spring, as soon as the frost is gone, but while the tree is still dormant.

 

[Grenfell]

For barerooting an oak about 4 ft. tall, just use a spade shovel and cut all around the tree about a shovel width away from the trunk. Cut the depth of the shovel, then work your way around the tree gradually prying it up til it comes loose. Once out of the ground don't be afraid to give it a good shake. Check for damaged or torn roots and cut them cleanly at the damaged spot. When you replant, make sure you're no deeper then what the tree was originally. My old boss (maaaany years ago), use to say "plant them high so they don't die". Oaks don't move as well in the fall as in the spring. Your best bet would be to move a tree in the early spring, as soon as the frost is gone, but while the tree is still dormant.

Thanks Rtom. By shovel width do you mean 3'-4' rather than 12"?

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

There is something funny about moving Oaks. I've tried several times over the years and have only had luck with small ones, under a foot. And then those fall prey to rodents.
A wild, 4 foot tall Oak, is only movable with a tree spade, I'd say, or someone good at digging and balling.

 

[antigrassguy]

For best results in transplanting "free range" trees is a years worth of preparations. The biggest down fall is not moving enough roots. When you find a tree that you would like to move, determine a generous size for the root ball. Then use the shovel to prune the roots. Step the shovel in and pull back out WITHOUT removing any soil or the tree. Roots, like pruned limbs, will develop more roots behind pruned area. Mark the new root ball so that you can come back every 3-4 months and prune with shovel in the same place. Best time to move to new home is early spring as soon as you can get a shovel in the ground. Some folks say it can be done in 6 months but a year seems to work well for me. Good job on the maple and way to step up to oaks. For a graduation you will need to move a 6' hickory.

 

[Rtom45]

Grenfell:
No, I mean the width of the blade, not the length of the shovel. Also, see the above post on root pruning in advance of moving the tree.

 

[Grenfell]

Thanks everyone.

Part of the reason I was 'bold' enough to do this was I had successfully transplanted another wild red oak sapling last year. I transplanted it around the same time (mid-August). I rootballed it and it survived quite well. It was approx. 2' tall. It was doing just splendidly until a deer(?) came along and munched off the top foot this Spring. Even deformed as it was, it has sent out new leaders and has been growing all season. I'm still not sure what to do with it, I may leave it and see how it grows.

This new one is looking worse - all the leaves save a few are browning and curling and a few have fallen off.

The good news is I very gently scratched several branches and they're all still quite green. The few leaves that have seemed to survive also look decent - still green and soft. So maybe it has some fight left in it, we'll see! I deep watered it this morning - slow but steady flow of water over a couple of hours.

Thanks for the root pruning and bare root advice. I'm a learnin'...

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

The good news is I very gently scratched several branches and they're all still quite green. The few leaves that have seemed to survive also look decent - still green and soft. So maybe it has some fight left in it, we'll see!

Good time for Willard Water!