Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
trouble with my maple tree
Hey everyone-
I was wondering if anyone could give me advice about the problems I am having with my red maple tree. I planted 2 maples about 2 months ago and have been watering them with a vengeance considering it has been nearly 100 degrees every day here. One maple is doing just fine. The other maple, however, turned brown literally overnight. It had a brown leaf here and there for awhile, but I'm talking 90% of the leaves turned brown OVERNIGHT. I scratched the bottom of the trunk (about 10 inches up from the ground) and it is green underneath. I scratched the branches and they are green underneath. Middle of the trunk is brown when scratched, though.
So my question is, do you think this tree can be saved? Could the ground be "too wet" and should I take the chance of letting it dry out a little to see if that helps? Anyone have any suggestions as to what happened here? I knew summer would be a hard time to plant these trees, but I got a great deal on them and had to get them in the ground asap. I'm new with the landscaping thing so any advice is appreciated! Thanks...
Re: trouble with my maple tree
My neighbor and I each planted 2 maples and have had problems with them as well. Two of the four are ok and two of the four are just hanging on. My neighbor's been watering hers religiously all summer and I've only been so-so. She spent a fortune on hers and the nursery she bought hers from came out and took a look and said to keep watering them and they'll likely come back next spring.
FYI, you shouldn't water daily. You want to water deeply a couple times a week to encourage the roots to go deep.
My Pinterest
The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
You could be over watering, maybe that area doesn't drain as well as your other tree.
We've had problems with our maples too. Our nursery said you need to do a stake probe test before watering. Take a stake & insert in into the mulch around the base of the tree, if it's soft it doesn't need water, if it's hard then it does.
I have some questions-
First, what EXACTLY does "watering with a vengeance" mean? Be very specific.
What is the FREQUENCY of your watering (Daily, every other day, every 2 days, every week, etc.)?
What is the DURATION of each watering (15-30 seconds, 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour)?
And what is the watering method (Bucket, Hose spraying from top of tree down to ground, soaker hose)?
I GUARANTEE you, unless the tree has been sitting in a puddle for the past 2 months, you are NOT overwatering. A Maple can handle all the water you can give it.
Now, a word about encouraging deep roots... There's another phrase I don't know the meaning of. Tree roots don't go very deep in any species, ESP. not Maples, unless you consider 12" deep. Roots need to stay close to the surface or they die; and that is across the board, for all plant roots. The oxygen, nutrient levels, and water all decrease with depth. Nothing lives past a certain point, and that point is around 3'.
Another parameter that needs to be well defined: Soil probing (the stake test) won't tell you squat if you've prepared the planting hole properly; the soil should be relatively loose all around the tree. If you didn't do this, it could cause health problems for the tree. It also matters how far away from the tree you probe. If the roots aren't there, it doesn't matter how the soil feels.
Now, a few words about Red Maples. Red Maples are possibly the most researched tree in the world. Consider them the white lab rats of arboriculture.
One thing we know for sure is that root deformities are extremely common in Red Maples, and because of this, they have an extremely high mortality rate. Most of the time they are planted too deep. Frequently, they are overmulched. And commonly, they are grown and sold in plastic containers. Any one of these factors can be enough to kill the tree. If all three of these things happen, you'll have a dead tree and proper watering won't change that.
The root deformity issue is circling roots that girdle the stem (trunk). In short, the larger the tree grows, the more it strangles itself.
Now, how do you know if you have stem girdling roots? Signs include branch or crown dieback (leaf drop) and cankers (wound wood or dead spots on the tree). To make a definitive diagnosis, you do a root collar excavation: dig down around the base of the tree until you find roots, and remove the soil. What you SHOULD find is that the largest roots are at the very surface of the soil and that they extend away from the tree. If you find only tiny fibrous roots, it is a bad sign. If you find a big root pressing against the trunk, it is a bad sign. If you have to dig deeper than 2" to find roots bigger than 2mm, it is a bad sign. The SGR problem is so common in Maples I could just about bet money on it, sight unseen. And I hate to say this, but if the nursery has a one year guarantee, their goal is to keep you from returning the tree for one year. They might tell you the tree will be fine next year just so you don't ask for your money back.
How big was the tree when you planted it? Was it in a container, or balled in burlap? Do some digging. When you pull away the soil and mulch from the stem, can you locate the root flare and the primary root system?
We were watering it every day for awhile, then it was closer to every 2-3 days. When we watered, we would turn on the soaker hose for about an hour. Lately, it has not been as much because a home being build behind us has just had grass laid down and they are watering constantly. Their lot must be slightly higher than ours because the back of our lot (where the maple is) has stayed soaked (we're talking squishy ground when you walk on it).
When we planted the tree, it was about.... 9 feet? And it had been stored in a plastic container.
It does look like we will have to pull up the pinestraw and landscaping fabric to take a look at the root system...
I'd love it if you would post pics of your root collar excavation!
so, update.
We uncovered the tree (pulled back the landscaping fabric and pinestraw) and found 2 roots that were growing above ground. These were pretty large roots compared to what was growing underground. So we cut those. We pulled the root ball out of the ground and broke up the dirt/roots. It was pretty compact and hard. Lots of little roots, though! Is this good sign? What do you think the odds are that this tree will come back? No pics
WHY did you cut off the two large roots?!
The root ball- was is still a tight ball after 2 months and all that water? Like a knot of fibrous, tangled roots? Or did the soil fall away from the roots, and the ball fall apart?
What you want is for the roots to all extend away from the trunk. Straight and far. If you unearthed the whole thing, and there were only 2 roots growing outside of a still intact mass of roots, that's not good. Cutting those off was not good. Those were successful roots- they escaped the tangled root ball, and did what roots do when they aren't in a pot: they stabilize the tree and absorb water and nutrients.
Sometimes, the primary root system has been buried so deeply (beginning in the nursery) that it can't function, and the tree desperately produces a secondary root system- where it should be, at the surface of the soil. Sometimes, the secondary root system is the only way the tree can absorb anything. If the secondary root system can establish, the primary root system atrophies and dies off.
Any other tree would probably be done for right now, but because it's a Maple, it might still have another shot. They can root in very fast. Cross your fingers.
Ok, good. Circling roots should be cut.
There's more good info about planting and establishment here:
http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/plantinghigh.shtml
Good luck!