Newly planted trees not looking good.

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

kruegerc2006

New Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
2
Reaction score
1
Location
Central Wisconsin
On June 20th we had 4 trees planted in our residential yard. The trees consisted of 2 Red Maple, 1 Pin Oak and 1 River Birch clump. Right from the start I was concerned about the way the fellow planted them and now my concern has grown immensely as the trees are, in my opinion, failing.

First the Maples...they came in pots that were about 18" wide and 18" deep (this is how all the trees were potted). The trees are both about 20' tall with trunks about as round as a baseball. The day the trees arrived they looked fine. Soon after planting they were wilted and sad looking. With in about a week we noticed that some of the leaves had begun to turn red and now about 1/4 - 1/3 the leaves on both trees have turned red and continue to be wilted and lifeless looking. As far as details of the planting...He dug the holes with a auger that was about half again as big as the root ball (or the pot the trees came in). They cut the pots off and used a tool of some sort to score up and down the sides of the root ball many times all the way around it. Next they put the tree in the ground and filled in the hole with the native dirt they had removed. When I asked him if he wanted me to bring the hose out he said no that he had watered them well before bringing them and they should not be over watered!?!?! This really concerned me because growing up on a farm anytime we planted a live plant we were certain to give it an abundance of water even at the risk of giving it too much. They staked and tied them with three stakes.

The oak (same size) was planted in the same way and as of this morning, many of the leaves have turned brown. The River Birch (about 10" tall with 3 trunks that are about as round as a golf ball) too was planted the same, however it is looking fairly good. In the last few days some of the leaves have turned a golden color and fallen off, but it does not look wilted.

In the week following the planting we watered well each day. I would estimate we gave them about 5 gallons each, cutting that to every other day after 5 days and lessening the amount to about 3 gallons. When watering I turn the hose to a medium stream and just let it sit on the mulch and saturate it, moving it around a few times. I also mulched them with about 5" of mulch, at first I put the mulch right up to the trunk, but after reading many post on this site, moved the mulch back away from the trunk.

I have concern that they may be planted too deep but one tree is planted so that about 2 - 3 inches of the original potted dirt is above ground level and it is having the same issues as the other maple. I've used a 10" screw driver to gently probe into the root ball and it is moist. The soil they are planted in is clay with some dark top soil dirt. I have not given them any fertilizer. The yard was sprayed early in the spring for dandelions and weeds. We have a farm field next to our yard that has beans and I believe it was sprayed with something this spring (not our field so uncertain of what was put on it) but that was months ago.

I've read about the possibility of the roots strangling the tree out but I question whether this could be the issue because these trees looked great when we bought them and planted them. Also, what are the odds of it happening on all three at the same time? Would a day or three in the ground allow that much difference where the roots are concerned (as far as strangling?) I tend to think the trees were shocked to all get out on the trip here. They were in the back of a pick up with the tops hanging over the end (cushioned under the trunks where they touched the tailgate of the truck). The River Birch is much smaller in stature and did not hang over the bed and so had a more protected ride.

I'm disappointed that I didn't take more time to research and prepare for these trees and now I'm just hoping that they survive. I have planted a willow and variegated Maple in the same yard and both have done well, although the var. Maple is growing slowly, it is growing and seems well otherwise. The Willow has grown in leaps and bounds in the 3 years we've had it in the ground. I should add that both the Willow and Var. Maple were smaller than the trees we had planted on June 20th.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I will try to get photos posted today.

Thanks in advance.
 
I don't know why people have to plant trees in the heat of high summer.

Twenty foot Maples with a DBH of 3'-4' growing in a 1.5 x 1.5 ft pot, (7gal maybe?)

Then they slice up the compacted root system and we wonder why the trees are wilting.

Are the trees under any warranty? Have you contacted the installers about the wilt-a-thon happening in your yard?
 
The tree's have a 1 year replacement warranty, which is good, but it just makes me sick to know that we might loose these trees.

We have not yet contacted the person who installed them, because to be honest, at this point, I don't have much faith in him. After seeing his planting technique and cringing, I'm almost afraid to get him more involved. I know...I know...stupid me for not being more informed.

I could kick myself now for not doing more research and insisting that he either leave the trees for us to tend to in the pot until the fall or just leave them with him until then. We are in central Wisconsin and yes the weather has been very hot and humid.
 
These trees are hardy and may pull through, just don't let them dry out and if they do die and you have to use the warranty, just take the trees and plant them yourself, in the fall.Are the trees container grown?
 
I've put in over 5,000 trees in the last three years and never shaved off a cup of dirt, the rule of thumb is to dig a hole twice the root ball size and fill with water, set the tree and backfill with fine dirt, drop one shotglass of 5-10-5, stake it and mulch to 1" of ground level, gently water(think soaker hose) early evening as needed.
As pointed out, hot weather is not the ideal time for planting trees but it can be done if done properly.
 
Back
Top