transplant help

Discussion in 'Maples' started by scottinphilly, Jun 8, 2008.

  1. scottinphilly

    scottinphilly Member

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    Hi All-

    I'm new to this forum, was hoping someone could help me save my ~12' tall by 8' wide bloodgood japanese maple. I transplanted it from the back yard to the front/side yard about two weeks ago, from full sun to part sun. Got as much of the soil and rootball as I could. Replanted with a healthy amount of miracle grow garden soil, though the surrounding soil is clay. Left about a 2-3 inch drop from surrounding soil, which I've been filling with water every morning and letting it absorb in or evaporate during the day. But slowly all of the leaves have dried out and shriveled up. Bark still seems healthy. Temps in Philly have been reaching 90 over the last week, could go to 100 next week.

    What should I do? Will it die? Anything I can do to save it? More water? Less water?

    Many thanks,
    Scott
     
  2. whis4ey

    whis4ey Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    It is always a bad time to try to transplant any tree whilst in leaf ... dormancy is the best period
    BUT ... do I understand that in fact you planted this tree two or three inches lower in the ground than the surrounding soil? That is a disaster. They should in fact be planted two or three inches higher (at least) than the surrounding soil and mounded up, to ensure good drainage
    In spite of your hot temperatures you may well be drowning the poor thing if you have created a sump in an otherwise clay soil
    Raise the tree immediately if it is to have any chance at all of surviving
     
  3. Worthy42

    Worthy42 Active Member

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    Yes - it has NO chance 2-3 inches below soil level. whis4ey's description of a "sump" with surrounding clay soil is absolutely perfect. Today in Philadelphia, it is supposed to hit 99 degrees, maybe 100. Mid to late week looks like low 80s. You may want to wait a day or two to try to remedy the situation, or at least until after sun down. You have a terrible combination of simultaneous stressors: (1) transplant shock (2) oppressive heat AND humidity and (3) less than ideal planting hole.

    I'll be honest, I don't have a good feeling, and you indicate that ALL leaves have shriveled, but for it to have any chance, you need to get it out of that hole.
     
  4. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    scott, how far down and how wide did you dig the new hole? with the clay we have here, you really need to go down a few more feet as well as making the hole wider than what is really needed and lightly amend the soil so that you aren't creating a 'bowl' for the water to just lay in.

    and, darn, the weather we've been having isn't helping any! it would have gone into shock anyway...as already said, the best time to plant trees is when they're dormant, so the fact that it wasn't along with the weather, it's no surprise it wilted and the leaves are dying.

    i'd definitely do something to modify the soil - even if you just open up one side of it so the excess water can drain out. i'd also remove the excess that's on top, too.

    the miracle gro stuff has fertilizer in it...that could also be aggravating things if there's root-burn happening. not much you can do about it now except wait it out...the water you've been giving it will wash it away/thin it out, so it'll become a none issue at some point.

    you want to water more at the 'drip line' rather than directly on the roots - force the roots to reach out for the moisture. the drip line is the outermost point of where the leaves hang on the branches.
     
  5. Poetry to Burn

    Poetry to Burn Active Member

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    Hey Scott,

    Home Depot had some good deals on smaller plants. I saw nice deals at the Columbus Blvd location -- south philly.
     
  6. scottinphilly

    scottinphilly Member

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    Thanks all for the advice

    As you can tell, I've quite the brown thumb. Guess the instructions for my arborvitae (which is doing quite well) don't translate to JMs.

    It's a beautiful tree, previous owner put it in a bad location. Didn't have a choice on moving it, I'm expanding my backyard patio and pouring concrete. It was either move it or cut it down. Figured I would take a chance and move it. If it dies, I'll definitely get another to replace it.

    I dug the new hole about 3 feet wide and 1.5 feet deep. Mixed the miracle grow with the native soil when refilling around the root ball (again, same instructions with arborvitae). Didn't fill the hole all the way up, though, left a lip as mentioned. I'll try raising it up this weekend, after the heat subsides. Will also try watering around the dripline as suggested.

    Since Franks Nursery is going out of business, any recommendations on where to go to replace it? Or just to find nice plants and shrubs in general in the NE Philly area? The Bensalem HD is pretty weak IMO. Lowes on the blvd is a little better, but I didn't see them carry JMs.

    Thanks,
    Scott
     
  7. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    where is there a frank's that's still open?????????? i thought they closed down completely a couple of years ago!!! (i REALLY miss franks!)

    if you're up for a bit of a drive, the lowes at the metroplex in plymouth meeting (right off of the blue route) has a decent garden center. the home depot down the road, (off of ridge ave) not so good.

    the home depot out in oaks is REALLY nice though. haven't been in the lowe's out that way, so i don't know what kind of plant selection they have.

    meadowbrook farm would be closer for you. not the largest place - good quality plants and if you wanted something in particular that they don't have, they would most probably order it for you. nice couple that runs the place!
     
  8. whis4ey

    whis4ey Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    I think if you dig that tree up you will find that the root system is totally saturated and won't need any more water :)
     
  9. Worthy42

    Worthy42 Active Member

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    I could be wrong, but a three foot wide root ball for a 12' by 8' Bloodgood probably left a lot of key roots in the ground.

    Not sure of the quality and variety of the Japanese maples at Home Depot and Lowes, but the price is generally right.

    Don't be hard on yourself. I accidentally killed a large maple when I moved to my house, I think by planting other shrubs too close to it and disturbing the shallow roots. Shriveled up the next day! It happens and thats how you learn. Its replacement is doing well four years later.

    I found this thread on nurseries in the Northeast. You may find it helpful:

    http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/northeast-philly/31775-plant-nursery-ne.html
     

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