hey,we transplanted spme trees my husband picked in the back yrd at his place right down the road. Hence we planted them here the soil is kinda the same any way the trees are truning rust color,we planted same day or next they did sit in sun with bare roots till planted.We water everyday a gallon each tree each tree is knee to waist high.They were pine and spruce.1 has new buds on the ends,and it looks like someone trimmed the branches of the trees with scizzors,just where the buds are.Are all the trees dead? THEY HAVE MULCH AND GOOD DIRT,DID WE NOT WATER ENOUGH AND IS IT TO LATE. DO we uproot again and depose and try to transplant again the wind is very strong here the tree have not blew over so i know they are planted good could someone please help us? thank you for your time
First problem is that you did it in May. Try again during autumn or end of winter early spring if you are not in mild part of Canada (Coastal BC).
Hi, it really doesn't sound very good. When conifers turn brown and lose a lot of needles (not just little bits from lower down) they have usually been dead a while. The problem was doing it at this time of year (March would have been the last possible time after late fall), possibly not taking enough of a rootball with each one, leaving them in the sun with no protection, and however much you watered by that time probably didn't matter one way or the other.
thank you so much it is just the children and myself so to hear from others that have knowedlge is GREAT so we will do better next year and try to what we can now,ie; water&tend to,next time we will till the soil and cover bare roots for my husband just ripped up from wet ground. He is a very opptimist and beleives they might still make it,There are 6 cedrs they have truned a deep color and the ends are getting whitish they gone too?? sorry we did not mean to hurt so many trees.
When you transplant trees, it has to be done at the right time of year, a large rootball needs to be taken, the trees need to be immediately put into pre-dug holes if possible, and if possible in very light shade (but the time of year will take care of that - if done right, it won't matter as much). They need to be well soaked for a couple of mos. as well, but if they're conifers, need to be in a location with very well draining (gritty) soil rather than loamy stuff or clay, because if they sit in water for any length of time they may also die from that.
how do you know when a tree is dead? hey, it may sound stupid but really when do you for sure a tree is gone.when all needles are gone,when no new buds,when all is rust color?TRANSPLATED 4?WKS AGO PINE CEDER AND SPRUCE.KNEE TO WAIST HIGH,palnted in same type soil no root ball all were bare .we are in western nnewbrunswick.they were beautiful bright green when they were pulled from the ground.they sat in the sun maybe a day and night before we planted em.
Re: how do you know when a tree is dead? what kind of tree? if there are no buds present and no leaves present at this time of year it may be a goner. but it depends on the tree and the location, it may yet be viable.
I thought my previous post was fairly straight forward. how can anyone answer a sight unseen query with any certainty?
yours was and i thank you and filled in your questions and got merged ,and slighted so i was explaning the recent post no intention to insult I am thoughly impressed with this site and very gratful for all your insight and knowelgde thank you all again for your time and comments,From a nieve beginger.
no insult taken, no worries, just trying to see more clearly as to what you were looking for in an answer.
Several years ago, I dug a small trench around the drip line - as far out as the lowest branches - of a Pinus jeffreyi, which is a very close cousin of Pinus ponderosa. Ten years earlier, it had been planted by the former owner too close to the septic tank and drain field. I dug the shovel in as deeply as I could, then moved it back and forth, to prepare the tree for the eventual move. I did this either in spring or fall of the year prior to moving the tree, which was 5' -6' tall. When I had assistance, we then moved it in the fall and planted it in a spot, where a hole had previously been dug. The tree's root ball was not exposed to air for more than an hour. Then we watered it in deeply. Since you plan to do this again, I suggest that you take the advice of some of our experienced forum members, whose assistance I did not have at the time, and prepare the trees for the move. I believe that this two-step process allows the tree to respond to some of the roots being cut and to grow small feeder roots, but I am not sure. I actually did exactly the same thing with Acer palmatum 'Oshu beni', a Japanese maple, last spring, and successfully moved it this spring. It seems that an evergreen conifer, such as cedar, spruce, and pine, must be moved with the roots and soil intact, not bareroot. If by chance you will be moving any small decidous shrubs during the dormant season, try to get a root ball, otherwise nearly bareroot shrubs must be plunged into a tub of water immediately until planting. Let us await further advice. As far as a prognosis for the trees which have been moved, I would say that it is grim if you moved them in May, moved them bareroot and exposed the roots to the elements for a day, and did not water enough. I understand that there are only a few conifers that show growth after they have lost their needles, but I do not know which those are. From experience, Sequoia sempervirens - coast redwood, seems to be amazing in this regard.