Top dieing off, 2nd time for me!

[Taipans]

I had an old maple that had its top burned off the first year it was planted, it looked horrible so I wanted to remove it and try again with another tree. We ended up planting a Tulip Popular in its place and now that the summer is in full swing its doing the same thing. The very top is starting to yellow, and the leaves are dropping. I do not want this to die as it was very expensive and a pain to plant. I have heavy clay soil, with poor drainage. I took great care when I planted it. I am not sure whats causing the top to die out though, could it be over watered, under watered or root rot? I know with the poor drainage the root system can take a beating in the clay soil?


I bought one of those slow watering tree bladder rings. I have been filling it up every 3-4 days. It takes about 12 hours to empty! Temps are in the 90s and its hasnt been raining. How much water should this tree be getting and is there anything I can do to help it out.

Thank you very much!

 

[Dadatwins]

Welcome, here is a link to proper planting. Tulip poplar very fast and large tree hope you choose a good location for it. As for how much water, generally 10 gallons per week per 1" diameter of the tree is average, but really depends on the soil situation. The slow drip bags are great for new tree installation but you might be overwatering depending on the size of the bag.
http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/tree_planting.aspx

 

[Taipans]

Thanks for the welcome!


I followed a similar tree planting guide from the arborday site. I made sure the root ball wasn't as deep as the old tree, noting the flare and mulched well.

Can over watering it cause the very tip top of the leaves to yellow and fall off? I was thinking it would be caused by not enough water to support the entire structure? I noticed it showing up after about 4-5 days of not watering it and it getting hotter. But now after a few times using the bag it has not improved!

 

[Dadatwins]

Overwatering can show the same symptoms as underwatering, excess water in the ground causes lack of oxygen to the root system and the yellowing leaves. Tree roots need to have the cycle of almost dry then wet to grow and expand. Poplar will shed leaves during times of drought so it a tricky situation to determine. You say that you have bad soil, are there any trees growing around the area?

 

[Taipans]

Well I live in a subdivision, its the only tree in my front side yard. But yes there are trees up and down the street. Infact our city enforces that we have 1 tree per street frontage. I have a willow in the back, but of course those trees are tough as nails.

I mixed the soil around it with the clay and tree / shrub mix so it wasnt just the good stuff. I also scored the edges of the hole according to what I read online. I am not sure what to do at this point, I feel its borderline on losing its top, and if that happens I am back to where I was with the maple before it.

 

[treeseer]

let the soil dry out between waterings. if you are in doubt, stick your finger in the dirt. next step is to break up the clay outside the hole--you need to do a lot more than "score" the edges of the hole.. I use a pick for this, to allow good drainage.

 

[Taipans]

I went home and dug up around the tree, I used tree & shrub soil when I planted it like I mentioned. Well the stuff is black as it was when it was dumped in I thought at first it might be soaked. But it crumbled when I picked some up. I went ahead and filled my water ring deal again last night. This week has been 95-98 and no rain, full sun so I was thinking it might need a little more water then normal?

How do I break up the clay now that everything is planted? Am I suppose to dig around the original hole? The tree is fairly large, around 25 foot, and way to heavy for me to get back out of the hole.

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[appalachianarbo]

In my experience, tulip poplars are not on the top of the list for transplantability or stress resistance (although they're awesome trees). How long ago was it planted? Is the burlap off of the ball?

How big was your planting hole compared to the root ball size? I think we're reaching a consensus about breaking up the soil around the hole.

You seem to be on top of your water management, but if the soil crumbles to the touch, a more frequent filing of the bag may be necessary. Just keep feeling that soil so you are not simply filling the clay bowl with water and drowning the roots.

 

[Taipans]

I planted the tree last April, near the end of the month. So it’s been in the ground approx 2 1/2 months now.

Yes I removed the burlap 100%

Once the ball was in the ground I had about 2 feet of clearance around it to fill in with dirt. I used a mixture of the original soil and tree / shrub miracle grow bagged stuff. I made sure the tree was above grade level, and packed and filled it all in stopping at the flare. I also put a layer of cedar mulch over it all, about 2-3 inches thick.

I had that fear myself; I only roughed up the clay walls. I didn't break them up that much. I was just going by the tree guide I found online. I will do whatever it takes to keep it alive, I didn't know if I needed some kind of nutrients added or anything. Also is there something I can do to avoid root rot, I read somewhere there is a mineral / fungicides that can help prevent it?