Help! Newly planted tree wilting a bit

[thistlebloom]

Ok - looks like a simple very low flow (i.e. drip) hose did the trick! Tree is looking much better. Thanks everyone.

Yay!

 

[Karen Reck]

Adjusting to a new home is stressful for young trees. The same thing happened to me after taking a black walnut tree in my backyard from my grandparent's home. I gently placed it in a planting spot, sealed with soil and quenched with water and I couldn't wait for my new tree to flourish. But after weeks of watching my tree soak in its brand new life, I could see only wilted leaves. The sudden change in environment can lead to all sorts problem, which is transplant shock. They usually start at the tree's root. Sometimes roots don't have enough space to spread out or get enough water right after being planted. I think in your case this is what happened. Whatever the case, trees wear their heart on sleeves-or should we say as their leaves. That's why you see those wilted leaves.
Trees often suffer from transplant shock because their roots don't have enough space to establish themselves. So here are a few things you can try:

1) Don’t over prune young trees, unless it’s to remove dead or damaged branches.
2) Give tree roots at least 1 inch of water per week.
3) Apply a two to four-inch deep layer of mulch from the base of the tree to the drip line. Keep mulch five inches away from the trunk.

If these tips don't seem to work, consider replanting the tree in a larger hole. If you're unsure about this, seek the help of an arborist.

 

[Andrew]

Follow up... it died.

Bores.

Landscape place replaced with a smaller but much healthier tree... with a small bark split at the base

There was no guarantee on the first one so I'm happy, new one is doing well so far.

 

[Collector]

Some trees don’t live after transplanting no matter how well you care for them. I think the smaller trees do better and need less attention after planting. Try not to let this one dry out and you be fine.

 

[Nyboy]

I don't want to remember how many trees died on me. But in all fairness most I bought on clearance at end of season

 

[Jared77]

I have a special water bucket for my trees. I've use them on new shrubs too sometimes.

Its a 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot (any 5 gallon bucket will do) with a very small hole drilled in the bottom. Ill take the bucket out near the trees root line fill the bucket to the very top and leave it alone. The bucket stays there till the leaves drop in the fall. Ill fill the bucket every few days or every day depending on the weather. That slow drip has made all the difference in the world, and I've had VERY good success planting trees using this method.

This way I don't forget to turn off the water, or flood the roots and waste water. The slow drip out of the bucket over a few hours allows the ground to absorb the water instead of flooding it.

This has worked for a variety of different trees I've planted.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

The damn gophers ate yet a second tree that I planted last fall. Its totally dead now and when you tug on the 2" dia trunk, only a stub comes up. This was a golden chain tree.

Now I've got to transplant a Catapla that I brought with me from Angels Camp. Maybe they won't like this one....

 

[catjac1975]

A new tree that big needs a lot of water. I would let the hose drizzle on it 24 hours a day for a few days. Move it around the tree so the whole root ball benefits.
It's going to take awhile for it to get enough new roots established in the soil to support a big canopy.

You should make sure that soil doesn't dry out. Not a swamp, but if the top 2 inches are dry get some water on it.

It sounds as though it's not doing too badly if it has new growth already.

Can you reds some of the leaves?

Hi all,

A few weeks ago we had a new maple put in. The maple is about 20ft high, the trunk about 3 inches across.

When put in, it had a watering ring installed, which, I've just found out, didn't work very well. Looks like it went maybe 3 days without watering.

At first, it had a few wilty leaves along the bottom; it seemed to recover OK. I refilled the ring and it seemed to be perking up.

We went away for a few days, and though it rained at least once (downpour) while we were away, the ring hadn't drained, though it had let out water to the point it couldn't reach the drip tubes.

We came back to find that there were now brown leaves on the bottom, and here and there a few more, and is quite droopy at the bottom but overall looks OK.

I replaced the drip ring with a hose on VERY low flow, and put it on for about an hour. I'll continue to do that until I find out whatever I'm supposed to be doing...

I do still see new growth that wasn't there about 5 days ago, and I don't see any leaves that have dropped.

So... not sure what to do. I may be overreacting & realize it may be transplant shock.... I'm attaching some pics (reasonably high res) for anyone who knows about trees & has guidance or suggestions!

Thanks in advance for any help.

Andrew

After rereading this, those who installed it would have been responsible for the water ring failure. Hope it survives the stress.

 

[thistlebloom]

The damn gophers ate yet a second tree that I planted last fall. Its totally dead now and when you tug on the 2" dia trunk, only a stub comes up. This was a golden chain tree.

Now I've got to transplant a Catapla that I brought with me from Angels Camp. Maybe they won't like this one....

Having lost a lot of trees to gophers at our last house I can feel your pain Murphy.

I recommend planting it in a wire basket, the mesh has to be fairly small so they can't get through it. By the time your tree roots get big enough for the basket to be a problem it should be rusted enough that it won't interfere with root growth. There's no way I'd plant a tree without one.