Tree Maintenance

[Captain B.R.K]

I know this isn't the time of year to put trees in, but had to do some landscaping to the new yard! Put a sugar maple in two Saturdays ago and the tree was doing great. Got home this weekend and the leaves are now all surivelled up. It almost looks like it's fall on the leaves. All of them are brittle and ready to crumble

I watered the yard 2 times a day (slow trickle) like the nursery said to do!

What did I do wrong?

Here's the kicker, I have 2 other trees I planted in the back yard. Did the same thing to em' and water them 2 times a day and both are in great shape.

[Steve Foss]

How did you get the tree home?

If you drove it some distance in the back of a pickup open to the air and drove fast, even it it was laid downi n the bed, the wind the slams through the cab will dry the leaves right out. It usually takes a day or two for them to start falling off, but I've seen that happen quite a few times.

Otherwise, any reputable greenhouse/nursery will have a money back/exchange program, and I'd contact them immediately so they know what's happened. If the tree was not windblown en route and you took the right care in planting and watering, this should not have happened.

[lawdog]

totally agree iwth catfish on notifying the nursery, but I'm wondering from your post if you are getting the tree watered enough. You say you watered the yard twice, but if you are just watering with a sprinkler, are you sure this area the tree is in is getting adequate water to water a lawn and a new tree? Maybe it wasn't clear from your post, but I think a tree needs more water directly on it than a sprinkler can provide. I planted about 70 trees at my acreage this spring and I've lost one, but they all get the hose for 7-10 minutes a week minimum... new trees need a LOT of water.

[LABS4ME]

Steve's on the right path here... My guess without seeing it, is a condition called 'heat scorch'. The ride home could've started it, but the hot weather we are having is definitley a cause of it. Maples (sugars especially) are VERY suseptible to this. One good hot and windy day can take them down. This happens because the tree upon tranplanting is only able to draw up a percentage of the water that it is "transpiring". It is a process to cool themselves off, much like our perspiring. Hypothetiacally let's say it is losing 10 gallons of water through it's leaves and stems a day, but it is only able to draw up and replenish itself with 8 gallons a day. This is why new trees generally have less / smaller leaves, to counter act this problem. Now let's throw in 90+ degree heat and a 20 mile an hour wind and you multiplied the amount it's losing by 2. The leaves run out of water and turn brown and die. It may or may not re-bud. Keep an eye on it and continue to water it and see if it does. If it doesn't, did the garden center give you a warranty? Maybe you can pick a "hardier" maple like Northwoods instead of Sugar. On hot windy days it actually helps to go out and syringe the leaves once or twice an afternoon to help cool the plant and give it a break from using it's internal water to cool itself. You'd actually be surprised how much it helps.

Maples (especially Sugars) are also suspeptible to leave tatter... even after they are mature. This is when the wind continually blows across the leaf and portions of the tissue tears and dies off. There are now improved varieties of Sugar Maples with much thicker leaves that are less suseptible to these events. Try "Green Mountain" Sugar Maple or "Fall Fiesta" Sugar Maple. Both have thicker leaves with a natural waxxy coating to help reduce the onset of leaf tatter. Sugar maples are trees of the forest. They get a lot of protection when they are young from the canopies of older trees... the situation it is in is totally unnatural for this tree. It can work, but they'll need a lot of babysitting when they are young.

Good Luck!

Ken

[Powerstroke]

Best thing you can do at this point is to try and return the tree. Any reputable nursery will guarentee their plant material, especially since you've got 2 more treesw that are doing just fine.

[Abrams]

Trees that have been planted with in the last 3 years should get a good soaking every week, shrubs as well. I have a Saturday morning ritual, fill up a 5 gallon bucket and hit each tree with it. I have a large Red Oak in the front that gets 2 or 3. It's very important during hot weather. Also add mulch to keep the root system cool and moist.

At this point it sounds like the tree (s) are done.

[harvey lee]

I agree on the watering.I had some 12-14 ft maples transplanted three years ago.I water all the time and soak up before winter.This spring on Memorial weekend while I was gone all the leaves on the trees started dying.I have since started watering every other day with the hose and by golly they are starting to look better in the leave department and they have not fallen yet.Looks like I might just get lucky and save them.I was sick when I came home and saw them.Those roots take some time to get deep to find some water.

[Captain B.R.K]

I transported the tree in the back of my truck 2 Saturday's ago. It sat for a 1/2 day in the pot it came in before I transplated it into the ground.

I dug a hole about 1.5 times the size of the base, put some peet moss in the bottom and put the soil back on the tree with some mulch on top. It got watered for 2 times a day for awhile- put the hose on the tree and let it run on a slight drizzle for 10-15minutes a time.

I just moved the mulch back the last couple of days and the topsoil is wet. The soil is like clayish w/some sand- would that made a difference in watering it 2 times a day. Maybe retained to much water?

Do I dig up the tree and return it this year (yes it did come with a warranty) OR do I let it sit and see if the tree comes back in the fall? Does it even have a chance to come back now that the tree is dead. (The leaves on it look like it is late fall- all dried out and ready to fall off).

I picked it up at FleetFarm and we picked the best looking Maple there. I'm afraid to go back and not find one I'll like.

Thanks everyone!

[lawdog]

I'd keep pouring the water to it and see first, and also I sure wouldn't want to try to exchange one now at a fleet farm or anywhere that's going to have an extremely small supply of very picked over trees left.