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nealius

Struggling Arbor Vitae

nealius
10 years ago

We planted 6 arbor vitae about a month ago, and almost all of them seem to be struggling. We were very judicious about watering them daily during the first week, and have continued to water them regularly. About a week or so after planting, many of the lower branches started turning brown as you'll see in my picture. I should add that we have a clay rich soil, but we added organic material when we planted, about 1 scoop of organic to 2 scoops of clay soil. Concerned we might be over-watering, I bought a moisture meter at home depot. It was really cheap, and I don't have much faith in it, but it was the only one I could find. I checked the soil today (keep in mind it rained a fair amount last night), and the soil around the tree registered a 10 - top of the scale. If I try to get it right at the base of the tree, or I go in at an angle, the moisture level is much less, between a 2 and a 4. So what's wrong with my trees? What am I doing wrong? Am I over watering or under watering?

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