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| Hello-
Im new on here. My husband and I live in MA. We just purchased four 6 foot Dark American Arborvitaes from a nearby nursery and planted them about a month ago. We have been watering them 1-2xs daily and fertilized them about 2 weeks after we planted them. We were advised by the nursery to leave the netting? on the bottom and were told it would rot off over time. Well the trees are now turning brown in some spots and appear to be dying. We are not sure if this is due to the fact that they are adjusting to being planted somewhere or if it is the fact that the netting thing is probably still on there or if there is a watering issue. Please help! These trees were expensive and we need them badly to shield us from a neighbor's yard that is a junk pit. Thanks!- Tara |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by cearbhaill Zone 6b Eastern KY (My Page) on Fri, Jun 15, 12 at 7:19
| Are you watering deeply enough? Meaning can you feel moisture in the soil 6-8 inches down after having watered? You should not be having to do it twice a day. Rootballs often resist water penetration- you need a long, slow, thorough soaking when you do it, not a drive by with a hose. The fertilizer was a mistake- you never, ever fertilize stressed or newly transplanted plants and you never fertilize without seeing active new growth. |
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- Posted by mad_gallica Z5 Eastern NY (My Page) on Fri, Jun 15, 12 at 8:02
| Getting enough water is probably not the problem. We have been getting almost daily rain for at least the last month, and I think most of Mass has had the same weather. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Jun 15, 12 at 8:24
| you water.. WHEN IT NEEDS WATER... dig a small hole.. next to the ball you planted.. ALL THE WAY DOWN.. and find out if it is sodden [in which case you need to STOP watering] .. or bone dry [and i presume you can figure out what to do] there is NO GUESSING ON WATER ... we would have preferred you removed the burlap.. but INSURE.. NONE OF IT IS ABOVE GROUND.. it will literally wick water out of the root mass ... i presume.. you are following the sellers instructions.. which is good for your warranty ... but most of us would have told you to NEVER fert a stressed plant.. and a new transplant are stressed for up to two years ... they are conifers.. which are trees [not shrubs, btw].. and as such.. most likely NEVER need to be fed.. like a child ... ONLY a soil test.. will tell you if anything is lacking in the soil ... and within a year or two.. the roots will be under the lawn.. and 'getting' whatever they need from the lawn ... we need a picture.. total yellowing or browning.. means death .. random brown spots.. is probably handling and shipping damage.. which means NOTHING .. clip to dead part.. back to a live stem ... and finally.. what is your soil ...is it heavy clay??? did you amend the soil ... and did you plant PROPERLY in heavy clay how about some pix??? see link.. HTML CODE ... ken |
Here is a link that might be useful: how to post pix
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| Those clay root balls that shrubs and trees are planted in are terrible at absorbing water if they have been allowed to dry out. I would dig all around the rootball at least halfway down until I could assess the original clay packing to see if it is moist. One reason to remove the burlap is so your native soil can easily mingle with the clay soil and start to break down the clay properties. That will help the roots get out to the native soil quicker. Right now its behaving like a container plant. Did you at least cut the burlap away around the top of the plant where the trunk is? |
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| Thanks for your messages. How long does the burlap take to dissolve? There are only brown spots. If you look deeper inside there is still alot of green. My husband soaks each one few a few minutes with the hose to be sure it penetrates down and does not just do a quick job. Attached is the link to some pictures of them |
Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of Trees
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- Posted by cearbhaill Zone 6b Eastern KY (My Page) on Sat, Jun 16, 12 at 9:20
| "My husband soaks each one few a few minutes with the hose to be sure it penetrates down and does not just do a quick job." A long slow soak is putting the hose on a slow leak and going out to dinner, not "a few minutes." Please understand that the root balls can actually repel water- just because you are directing a spray at a certain point on the ground does not mean that the water is going where you intend it to go. FWIW I think what you are seeing is simple transplant stress. |
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