How long before transplant problems visible?

[msjohnson]

Last fall I transplanted two large trees (a colorado spruce and a lodgepole pine, both about 12 feet tall) into my yard. They were balled and burlapped. When I planted them I noticed that they both had a partial girdling problem from twine which had not been removed. The trunks both had slight constrictions in their shape, although the bark was intact (except the pine, which had about 20% of the circumference where the bark was cut).

If either of these trees don't make it because of the girdling or transplant, when would I see signs of trouble emerge? Are there any signs of health/illness I can look for this spring? Thanks.

 

[treeseer]

If you only have a 1-year warranty, you want to keep a close eye on them. Can you photo them now and again midsummer? They ususally die after the first year, so your warranty will pass before they are dead.

If the central leader declines during this season I'd press for a replacement or at least an extension on the warranty. Did you pay to have them planted? Were they put in like this?

http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/tree_planting.asp

If the site wasn't prepared right, get on it now.

 

[Treeman14]

From the wording of your post, it sounds like you purchased these trees from a nursery and planted them yourself. If so, did you inspect them before the purchase or did you notice the girdling during planting? It may be too late to get a refund or replacement if you did the installation. I assume you have corrected the girdling problem. The best course of action may be to simply provide proper irrigation and nutrient supplements, if needed. And hopefully they will recover on their own. The good news is that trees are very resilient and can often thrive in spite of our best efforts to help them. :angel:

 

[msjohnson]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not worried at this point about refunds, replacements or warranties because I already agreed to a refund of about 70% of my money in exchange for taking my chances with them. I'm more interested in what to look for in terms of any signs of problems.

Treeman14: I'm curious to know what you mean when you say you assume I"ve "corrected the girdling problem." Of course I removed the string which was girdling the tree, inspected the bark and found it was entirely intact on one tree and about 80% intact on the other. Is there anything else I can do besides removing the constriction?

Treeseer: I'm really not a tree expert, so I need to ask you what you mean when you say if the "central leader declines" during the year. Is that the new growth on the very top of the tree?

 

[Treeman14]

Treeman14: I'm curious to know what you mean when you say you assume I"ve "corrected the girdling problem." Of course I removed the string which was girdling the tree, inspected the bark and found it was entirely intact on one tree and about 80% intact on the other. Is there anything else I can do besides removing the constriction?

Nope, that's it.

 

[treeseer]

when you say if the "central leader declines" during the year. Is that the new growth on the very top of the tree?

Yes. You might consider an antitranspirant spray to lessen water loss.

Good that you corrected the twine-girdling problem. Read the link--is there a root-girdling problem? Was the ground broken up well 3x the rootball size?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

To add to what Guy stated, I would watch the incremental growth of all twigs.

If there is a root problem, the tree will grow well for the first year or tow then each year put out shorter twiggs.