Hedges: Please save my new cedar, overwater problem

I just planted 9 5 feet cedar in my backyard, in a location not under direct sun, 1.5 months ago. I put bone meal and a little water in the hole before transplanting. After planting, i water the base using water hose for 10 seconds everyday. After several weeks, we found the brown leaves. Then my friends advised me to use soak tube around the base and water the cedar for 6 hours everyday. But it does not help, the more leaves turns brown. Some people say I only need to water them 30 minutes every days.
What should I do? Have I overwater them? Please help me.

 

Do not use bone meal in future. Do dig around in the rootballs to see if they are wet or dry.

 

How do I know whether I overwater it?

 

Chances are you have not overwatered. With this heat they'll suck up all the water you give them. The problem sounds like underwatering to me -- 10 seconds of hose spray is not enough water for a recently planted cedar of any size. Is the ground around them muddy? Does it stay that way all day until you water again? If it is not then the water is soaking in. That's good.

This is not a good time to plant shrubs or trees -- you would have been better off waiting until the fall, when it is less hot and the plants will be less stressed. But since you have done it now, the best thing to do is to build up soil in a ring at least two inches high just beyond the dripline of the trees and fill the space between that ring and the trunk with water morning and night. Do not water any later than 10 am or earlier than 5. Soaker hoses are a good idea, but only if they are positioned at or near the dripline of the trees. Putting them next to the trunks does no good at all -- the growing roots are at the edges, not next to the trunks.

Good luck. But if your cedars don't make it, consider this a learning experience and try again in the fall.
keke

 

>How do I know whether I overwater it?<

>Do dig around in the rootballs to see if they are wet or dry<

 

Thanks a lot for your advise. Then how long and how often should I use soak tube to water them then?

 

Soaker hoses don't put very much water out at a time (altho all the water is able to soak in and do its good work) so give them a good long drink -- 1 hr a day? But remember, only in the early morning or late afternoon, and hoses must be on or near dripline. Morning is preferred so cedars can use the water all day.
keke