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woodardhsd

Diagnose my Soft-Touch Hollies

woodardhsd
12 years ago

When our house was built last year (June), the builder planted eight boxwoods around the foundation in raised beds, approximately 10" deep, covered with pine straw. One died within a month and was replaced by the builders landscaping contractor. By March this year, 6 more had dried up and died.

We finally ripped them out and replaced them with "soft-touch" hollies from a local nursery . At the same time (first part of May) , I removed some (3-4") of the soil from the top of the beds to lower them down a bit. I put the landscape fabric back and covered them with red cypress mulch. A week or two later, we added the block retaining wall/border.

Last week, my wife noticed some of the leaves were starting to turn brown on a couple of them. Then a couple more. I think 5 out of the 8 have some brown leaves on them now. Some are worse than others.

Here's a couple pics of the hollies I took today at lunch.

One of the good ones:

[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/woodardhsd/IMG_20110606_125538.jpg[/IMG]

The worst one:

[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/woodardhsd/IMG_20110606_125603.jpg[/IMG]

It has been abnormally dry here for the last month. I think it has rained 3 times since we planted them. My wife has been watering them almost every evening. She was worried she may have been over-watering them and causing root-rot, but the beds are all topsoil that was brought in when the house was built. There is sand and then clay under that, but the clay doesn't start until 4-6" under the bottom of the root ball.

Any ideas?

Comments (11)

  • woodardhsd
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Sorry, I'm not good at posting pics.

    Here is one of the healthy ones:
    {{gwi:263145}}

    Here is the worst one:
    {{gwi:263146}}

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    12 years ago

    Are you SURE that your watering is getting through the mulch and through the weed fabric? The fabric, which so many people end up ripping up and removing, really and truly impedes the infiltration of water. You may want to check the soil with your fingers.

    It's possible, too, that the clay layer is preventing water from draining properly and that the plants are all sitting in a bathtub.

    Either scenario would cause the symptoms you're seeing.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    12 years ago

    they need to be DEEPLY watered.. throughout the entire depth of the pot they came out of.. and then allowed to NEARLY dry.. before they are deeply watered again ... as noted ... if you dug a cauldron in clay ... they may never NEARLY dry .. and would root rot ... real catch 22 there .... eh????

    a little bit of surface water is useless ..

    they looked extremely stressed from transplant.. along with severe sunburn due to lack of water ... or lack of viable roots pumping water ...

    insert finger to second knuckle IN THE SOIL .. to determine if the soil is damp .. no guessing ..

    ken

  • woodardhsd
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks for both responses.

    I know for a fact they don't go all the way down to the clay layer. Most of the holes that I dug were a couple inches too deep to start with and I didn't ever hit the clay.

    On the advice of my mother-in-law who provided instruction while my wife and I worked, we cut holes out the landscape fabric, probably as wide as the plants themselves.

    I did realize last night that in the process or putting the retaining wall up, the mulch has gotten piled up a little thicker at the base of the plants. I pulled it away a little bit.

    I'll actually check the soil tonight for dampness. It woulds like from my readign that if they have root-rot, they're pretty much goners. But if the problem is lack of water, can they be saved?

  • WendyB 5A/MA
    12 years ago

    How about digging one out and examining the root ball? While you are at it, water the hole and see how long it takes for it to drain.

    That is pretty strange that the previous plants didn't make it and these are in trouble too. How about a soil test? Maybe the "good" soil is not so good.

    ANd just because the clay is several inches underneath the plant, doesn't mean that you are in the clear. The water will still collect at the clay level. I suspect overwatering from the description, but the browning suggests underwatering. Overwatering often shows up as yellowing leaves.

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    12 years ago

    If the plants are sitting in a bathtub of water, the roots will quickly die, giving the plant every appearance of being completely without water. Which, in fact, they are...considering that the feeder roots are gone. No root hairs, no water uptake.

    Artificial layering of soil, even in a raised bed, can often cause problems like this.

  • woodardhsd
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I checked he soil last evening, it was damp at least 3 inches down right around the base of the plant. That was approximately 18 hours or so after the last time we watered them.

    If I dig one of them up to inspect the root ball, what do I need to look for? If I fill the empty hole with water, how long should it take to drain out?

    As far as the topsoil, I'm not sure about it. I'm starting to think is not very good quality. The subdivision we are in was old farmland. I have an old soil study at work that lists our area's soil type as "leaf silt loam" or "fine sandy loam". The builder brought in 4 or 5 loads of sand, then maybe 3 loads of this topsoil to build the lot up a bit. I do know the topsoil of full of weeds based on how my "lawn" looks right now. I wanted to do a soil test anyways to figure out what to do about the grass.

  • WendyB 5A/MA
    12 years ago

    Here's a great reference for the hole drainage test. THey say it better than I could.

    http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/factsheets/misc/soilbasics.html

    ANd here's a great reference for watering new shrubs.

    http://www.westonnurseries.com/Watering

    If it isn't a drainage problem, I would be suspicious of something weird about the soil, but then again, everything would be dying if that was the case.

    If it is poor drainage the rootball will have soggy dark roots. It will be smaller than what it was when you planted it.

  • PRO
    SMSD Designs, LLC
    6 years ago

    I recommend a soil test to see the quality of the soil and the pH. Although topsoil was brought in, it sounds like the pH is off and therefor the plant cannot absorb some of the nutrients it needs.


  • Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
    6 years ago

    'Soft Touch' hollies are a bit temperamental and take a while to get established. That looks like what commonly happens when they are overly rootbound in the pot, then planted, then not adequately watered. The root ball must be roughened up before planting. This helps the new roots to grow out into the surrounding soil.

    Also, overwatering can cause this, so you really have to poke your finger down into the rootball to see what the situation is for a while after planting.

    You don't say where you are and what your weather is like.