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roz1955

Pink Dogwood Floribunda

roz1955
10 years ago

I live in zone 6, northern New Jersey. I have an 8' Pink Dogwood that we planted in the spring and I noticed a few dead leaves. We planted at the appropriate depth and deep watered everyday for 2 weeks. We also have a sprinkler system. As you know in July in was a very hot and humid month. We noticed the tree was progressively showing dead leaves. As of 2 weeks ago the whole tree died. The nursery said that we should wait to next spring to see what happens. My question is, is there any hope that the tree will survive?
Thanks :)

Comments (12)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    yes

    but in the mean time... dig a small hole about a foot from the tree.. about 6 to 8 inches deep.. with a hand trowel..

    AND FIND OUT IF YOU ACTUALLY GOT WATER DOWN INTO ITS ROOT ZONE ...

    there is nothing you can do.. if the warrantor.. tells you to wait ... other then flip him off and go buy another tree ...

    i would also pull back the mulch.. and find the root flare .... and find out if it is above the soil grade ...

    did you amend the soil at planting???

    in all reality .. it only went dormant a month or so early.. large transplants can do that ....

    ken

  • roz1955
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks Ken, We did plant it above the soil grade and amend the soil as instructed by the nursery. We'll take your suggestion and dig around the tree to see if the water is getting to the root zone and we'll play the waiting game and see it in the spring. Fingers crossed :)

  • j0nd03
    10 years ago

    "We did plant it above the soil grade and amend the soil as instructed by the nursery."

    Uh oh. With what and how much did you amend the soil? I once amended the soil for a Cherokee Princess dogwood with manure compost and a little peat moss. We had a very wet spring that year and the compost held too much water and drowned the tree. I amended the soil about 50% which is WAY too much. If you only tossed in a little, NBD

    Dogwoods like organic matter, but too much of a good thing will kill them.

  • Embothrium
    10 years ago

    Any amending of planting hole back-fill is too much - always refill with the same soil that came out of the hole, without adding anything to it.

    If this tree was planted in an intact field soil ball it may not have taken up the water that was applied to it afterward and eventually died of drought.

  • roz1955
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    We didn't amend it that much as the soil it was planted in was in great shape to begin with. Thanks!

  • j0nd03
    10 years ago

    As I said, if you just put a handful or two of compost or similar it's no big deal. But as bboy stated, ideally the soil shouldn't be amended at all unless a substantial portion of what will be the mature tree root zone can be evenly amended.

    Lack of regular deep watering and poor root structure are usually the main culprits when new transplants fail

  • Embothrium
    10 years ago

    Drying out due to soil textural differences is common, drowning for the same reason is also possible. When there is an intact original root-ball, an amended planting hole back-fill and an unmodified existing soil around the planting hole then three different textures may be involved.

    Clay soil root-balls kept out of the ground and not handled effectively before final purchase may often be dried out on the inside and resistant to re-wetting. I see wilted trees sitting around waiting to be planted on commercial installations here over and over. These are not hard to find at some retail sales yards also.

  • IanW Zone 5 Ont. Can.
    10 years ago

    Roz1955
    When you bought the tree, was it in a burlap bag and wire?
    I ask this because I am very familiar with trees sold that have been tree spaded......many times the spade is too small for the size of trees and much of the feeder roots are cut off during the process......what happens then is the tree has enough energy to keep itself alive for a while and then progressively goes down hill from there.....no matter how well you water or take care of it.....so this whole issue may not be your fault.....

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    10 years ago

    It's so frustrating to know that nurseries and garden centers are still shoveling out bad advice. Grrrrr!

  • Embothrium
    10 years ago

    Specimen shown seems kind of small to have been dug with a spade. Also, condition of trees and shrubs before digging critical to outcome, as energy stored in stems is what is used to grow new roots.

  • j0nd03
    10 years ago

    The surrounding shrubs look plenty happy which makes me question the health of the tree and overall condition of the root system before planting.

    Was it dormant when you planted it?

  • IanW Zone 5 Ont. Can.
    10 years ago

    I work at a nursery as a horticulurist and we get in 6 foot cedars and other small trees that have been dug with a tree spade......many times, there are no viable roots left on some trees .....that is why we (and other nurseries) guarentee trees and shrubs for a year....just in case the tree doesn't survive......his dogwood is large enough to have been dug with a spade....so as I said before....it may not be his fault.....

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