cedar excelsior hedge drowning ??

I planted a cedar hedge of excelsior that were 3-4 feet tall and they are dying at an alarming rate. Today Oct 9th, I dug up the dead trees and the holes filled with water. I found fibrous root mass only at the soil surface around the base of the trees. The main root structures were devoid of any new white roots, or fibrous root formation, and looked dead. The trees are planted on a mild slope which makes the water accumulation in the holes strange. It's possible that the amount of clay in the soil is preventing adequate drainage.

I really want to have this hedge to succeed in this location so I'm wondering how to overcome this drainage problem. I'm thinking I might dig a trench 2 feet deep; back-fill with gravel and plant the trees above the surrounding ground level. Any other ideas ??

Cheers....George Vancouver Island

 

Correct drainage and then start over with fresh stock. You are probably working with Thuja plicata 'Excelsa'. Use drain lines to move water off site into a lower lying area. If no such area is available you will have to find another solution, maybe adding soil and planting well above existing water table. Be sure to allow for increase in amount of water present during wet winter weather.

If you planted in amended planting hole back-fill you probably created sumps. Always plant with same soil inside hole as outside, so soil texture is uniform, with no pockets or zones of coarser amended material that will receive and collect water from surrounding unmodified soil.

 

just out of curiosity, what did they do when they drowned? turn yellow/brown in certain areas first or throughout uniformly? any wilting similar to not enough water?

 

The first sign of ill health was the lack of growth, and the production of great numbers of seed pods. Gradually the branches turned a yellow color sporadically, and then everywhere on the tree. Basically the trees were not growing, and started to look spindly and ugly. I soaked them everyday, not realizing that too much water standing in the root zone was the problem.