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| I have a 7 ft. tall Linden tree that has struggled ever since I planted it about four years ago. At first I thought it was just transplant shock, but after doing some research I came to the conclusion that the nursery had planted it too deeply in the container. It was probably the second or third container tree I had ever planted, and I didn't realize at planting time that I needed to check for that. So, a few months ago I tried to excavate down to the root flare and ended up removing about four inches of soil. I didn't find any girdling roots at least.
This brings me to the dilemma I have now. The tree is still alive and has buds that will leaf out soon, but there is a significant part of the crown that is dead or weak and will probably need to be pruned off (about 50%). That side of the trunk also looks dead like only half of the entire tree is still growing. There are shoots sprouting from the now-shallow roots near the base of the tree that look healthier than the rest of the tree ever did. The leaves are about 2-3 times bigger, and the shoots are growing fast. Do I remove all the sprouts and wait to see if the original tree will recover or do I cut everything down except one root sprout and let that grow into a new tree? Or, I could just remove the whole thing and start over now that I know what to look for when planting. Advice would be appreciated! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sat, Mar 31, 12 at 13:12
| any chance at a pic.. its hard to come to any conclusions about youth-in-asia.. by words alone ... ken |
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| Here's the whole tree:
The sprouts that appeared only a week or two ago:
The trunk with the healthy and not-so-healthy side:
The healthier side of the tree with buds greening up:
The other side of the tree. Some of the buds might be swelling a bit, but they're lagging behind the other side of the tree. I'm not really sure what to expect as far as recovery on the twigs that had started to die back.
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| She gone. Start over. Sorry. It definitely could have been planted too deep. I am sure when you plant the replacement, you will expose the flare correctly ;) I dug up about 10 maples last spring and replanted them because they were too deep in the pots when I initially planted them 6 months earlier. But then I came to this site and learned the correct way to do things. Good luck with the replacement. John |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Sat, Mar 31, 12 at 23:03
| Yeah, it's toast. Now, if you do wish to let one of the basal suckers grow on, realize it will not be a cordata. Probably grafted onto americana rootstock which, IMO, is a better tree anyway, but that's beside the point. You could do this. But the main tree is not worth continuing to work with. +oM |
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| I might try to save one of the suckers, but I'll probably end up transplanting it further away from the house once it gets a little bigger. Thanks for the input! |
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| If you decide to keep a sucker you still need to excavate the root flare and investigate for possible stem girdling roots |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Sun, Apr 1, 12 at 22:21
| You can make the inspection that j0n mentioned when you dig the tree up to move it. Then too, make sure to plant it at proper depth, with the root flare at or slightly above finish grade. +oM |
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| I'll probably wait until fall to dig it up and move it, but I'll be sure to check for the root flare this time around. |
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