New tree dead in a month - help needed

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Cory_C

ArboristSite Lurker
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Florida
Hello,

Hired a company to have a 100 gallon live oak delivered and planted, and it died just over a month later. The tree company is saying the tree died due to not being watered, however we watered the tree as instructed (about 20 minutes a day). Asked our lawn/tree service company (they don't plant trees) to take a look and they think it was planted too deeply. The company is not being very cooperative saying since it died due to not being water it is our fault. Looking for any suggestions on how to prove it did not die from us following their directions as we watered it everyday, but from how the tree was planted.

Thanks,

Cory
 

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Yes...it was planted too deep. However, that doesn't kill a tree in a month.

Was there any rain in the month since they planted the tree? Enough to keep the tree alive even without additional watering? Have you been excessively dry this fall/winter? It would be really, really hard to kill a transplanted tree in the fall by not watering it enough...

Is it possible that you over-saturated the tree with too much water? You said 20 minutes per day. How much water in that time. 20 minutes a day from a fire hydrant wide open will kill any tree in a month... Also, new trees shouldn't be watered every day, just a couple of times per week. Maybe a 3rd or 4th time in the middle of a very hot/dry summer. However, if daily was their instruction, I understand why you did that.

*Planting too deep
*Bad advice on watering
*Won't honor warranty, even after 1 month
=sounding like a company I wouldn't want to work with - sorry you are in a bind with them. As much as it stinks to lose money on a bad deal, I'd question whether you want them planting the replacement tree. Seems like they don't know what they are doing based on the little information we have here - understanding there may be more to the picture... You want a tree to last decades. A little more investment upfront from somebody who understands how to get trees off to a successful start will pay for itself many times over as the tree matures vs. a tree that dies a short time later.

I'd recommend you call an ISA Certified Arborist. You can search at treesaregood.org for somebody in your local area. Might ask the company you bought the tree from if there is a 3rd party opinion they'd accept.
 
Thank you @ATH for the information. It was very helpful. To answer your and @Raintree questions:

-The tree was planted on 11/14 which is our dry season (planting zone 9b). It may have rained one or two days but maybe .1 inches at most on those days.
-It's hard to measure how much water I used daily but for the first week I did 15 minutes with the hose on a "spray setting" with a moderate flow. The second week I actually went to every other day.
-By the third week (12/3) I noticed the tree starting to decline (photo added showing browning of the leaves) and at this point was told by the company that planted the tree to water daily with a trickle for 20 minutes. After that, I watered with slightly more than a trickle but much less than previously.
-A little more than a week after this (12/10), the entire tree had brown leaves and the branches had no color inside.
-On 12/18, I had a third party inspect the tree saying it was dead. Shortly after the company that planted the tree also confirmed it is dead.

It is a sandy soil and I think all that was put in the planting hole (I didn't watch) was the soil removed from the previous tree that was removed. We were told the previous tree died to due a disease
 

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I'd guess either the root ball was too small, or it was sitting in the nursery yard too long without proper watering. Also, planted too deep.
Was the tree field-grown, or container grown?
 
If we assume that a viable healthy tree was installed in sandy soil. Improper water management did not cause it's demise within the short time frame, nor did planting depth.
Toxic diffusion from anaerobic decomposition of organics from the former tree or introduced into the planting medium is unlikely in sandy soil. I would next look a poisoning ether deliberate
or accidental.
 
@TNTreeHugger I'm not sure if the tree was field-grown or container grown.
@Raintree Is there a way to check for poisoning? Would like to be sure this is not the case as when we put the next tree in we don't want this to happen again.
 
@TNTreeHugger I'm not sure if the tree was field-grown or container grown.
You said "100 gallon" which implies container grown:
65-Oak 100g.jpg
This is field grown:
Live-Oak1.jpg
Roots could be girdled in the container.
Root ball could have been dug too small, or soil knocked from the roots if field grown.
You also said this is your dry season... it's possible the people you bought from had the tree sitting on the yard and neglected to water properly.

But, if your front yard looks like your neighbors across the street, that little 3' patch of yard looks too small for a live oak.
Tree.jpg
http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/content/TreeDetails/?id=109
stonaker-oak_new-roads.jpg
 
@TNTreeHugger I agree with everything except concern a out soil being knocked off of rootball. Who cares if it is? As long as the roots don't dry out, that doesn't matter - they are getting new soil pretty soon. I've planted tens of thousands (if not over a hundred thousand) bare root seedlings - and a couple bigger trees bare rooted.

(Also, while a 3' tree lawn is too small for a live oak, that will be a problem later, not killing the tree right after transplanting)
 
@TNTreeHugger I agree with everything except concern a out soil being knocked off of rootball. Who cares if it is? As long as the roots don't dry out, that doesn't matter - they are getting new soil pretty soon. I've planted tens of thousands (if not over a hundred thousand) bare root seedlings - and a couple bigger trees bare rooted.

(Also, while a 3' tree lawn is too small for a live oak, that will be a problem later, not killing the tree right after transplanting)
Hmmm... I was office manager at a nursery for several years and we used to soak the ground before digging if the ground was dry - they said if the root ball was dry, and the soil got knocked off the roots, it would damage the tree.
I never knew the reason behind this info. and yes, I know trees/plants get shipped bare root all the time, so I don't know why it would matter in a root ball, but that's what they said. :popcorn2:
 
Thank you for the information. This has been really helpful.

Today while looking at the tree, I found some new growth on the tree (photo attached). One other area slightly above the photo as well but nothing higher. I haven't noticed anything else with the tree over the last month so not sure what this means. My thought is to have an arborist come out to do an assessment to be sure I didn't miss anything and next recommended steps.
 

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Hmmm... I was office manager at a nursery for several years and we used to soak the ground before digging if the ground was dry - they said if the root ball was dry, and the soil got knocked off the roots, it would damage the tree.
I never knew the reason behind this info. and yes, I know trees/plants get shipped bare root all the time, so I don't know why it would matter in a root ball, but that's what they said. :popcorn2:
Easier to keep roots moist in soil...so that is the big reason. Also, if the soil is caked on the roots and really sticking to them then comes off in big chunks it can break some roots. But i guess my point was soil coming off of ball isn't like an automatic death.
 
Interesting that your oak is now growing epicormic sprouts. Sign of stress due to loss of leaf surface. What we have is a severe case of transplant shock.
Need to take another look at the installers. If I was a betting man my money is on a over heated root system. Hot Florida sun + black container pot = toasted feeder roots.
 
Just had a certified arborist inspect the tree and received the report. The findings were the tree never became established in the ground, is almost completely dead and needs to be replaced. It was planted about 3 inches too deep and that some of the roots were growing in a circular manner rather than away from the trunk. At this point I am going to go back to the company that planted the tree as it sounds this was all on the planting of the tree. I will be sending the report but was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience or had thoughts on the best way to proceed. I'm hoping the report will be enough to convince the company. As a last resort, would going to small claims court be an option?
 
What does their warranty say? Ask how they determined COD, and why they wouldn't accept 3rd party report and if there is a 3rd party report they would accept. Perhaps see if they will provide the replacement tree and you can arrange for planting - by someone who knows what they are doing.

How much did you pay? I would not want to mess with court unless it is a bunch. Maybe threatening court may be enough? Unless the company is a sole proprietorship, they will probably be required to hire lawyer. That can be good or bad. Good because they may settle without hiring a lawyer. Bad because if you have to go to court against a lawyer....you are probably at a disadvantage.
 
Just had a certified arborist inspect the tree and received the report. The findings were the tree never became established in the ground, is almost completely dead and needs to be replaced. It was planted about 3 inches too deep and that some of the roots were growing in a circular manner rather than away from the trunk. At this point I am going to go back to the company that planted the tree as it sounds this was all on the planting of the tree. I will be sending the report but was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience or had thoughts on the best way to proceed. I'm hoping the report will be enough to convince the company. As a last resort, would going to small claims court be an option?
Rootbound/root girdling... 1 point for me.;)
 
The arborist findings are the tree never became established in the ground? After only about a month is anyone surprised?
Planted 3" too deep, this didn't kill your tree.
Roots growing in a circular manner, you don't say, in a container? Shocking
You need to get a certified arborist to tell you why your tree is dead. The tree needs to be pulled out of the ground, root system & soil inspected.
Your case is very weak without knowing.
The planting hacks will just fall back on the old and tired excuse, home owner no water tree, and tree died.
 
Thanks again everyone for responding (@ATH, @TNTreeHugger, @Raintree) . A month later we are still going back and forth with the company as they are still insistent the tree died and came back to life due to watering.

To answer some of the previous questions, we paid just under 1k for the tree. The contract stated they could not provide a warranty as they could not watch the tree and not responsible for lack of water. As they are claiming that watering killed and brought it back to life they are not offering to do anything.

I've attached a recent picture of the tree. The company has said it is alive at this time and will grow back fully. My question is how long would this take? It seems to have made progress in the last month but has quite a ways to ago(top of picture is about half of the length). This is my main concern with this is the HOA is fairly strict. I may be able to tell them a short period of time but if this is years or more it won't work.

Thanks again for the responses.
 

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Is there oak wilt in the area/ If not, I'd give it another month or so and then prune out the obviously dead. Will make it look better. See if there are any actual structural branches left to turn it into a proper tree.

If HOA gives you a hard time, just keep asking the original contractor for a letter stating the tree is live and viable. this should help with 2 things:
1) The HOA will need to find another expert to disagree. Since your tree isn't guaranteed, this won't help that cause, but it should slow the HOA down a little.
2) If they company knows that everybody in the HOA sees that this is the kind or work they are proud to stand by, they may change their tune and replace the tree...or lose opportunity for more work in the neighborhood.
 
Is there oak wilt in the area/ If not, I'd give it another month or so and then prune out the obviously dead. Will make it look better. See if there are any actual structural branches left to turn it into a proper tree.

If HOA gives you a hard time, just keep asking the original contractor for a letter stating the tree is live and viable. this should help with 2 things:
1) The HOA will need to find another expert to disagree. Since your tree isn't guaranteed, this won't help that cause, but it should slow the HOA down a little.
2) If they company knows that everybody in the HOA sees that this is the kind or work they are proud to stand by, they may change their tune and replace the tree...or lose opportunity for more work in the neighborhood.
What would you do about the possible issue with girdled roots?
If that is a problem now, won't it get worse as the tree gets bigger?
 

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