Hello, About 5 years ago I found this tiny tree starting to grow in the yard at my old apartment. I dug it up and gave it to a friend who has a green thumb. She replanted it in her yard and it grew up nicely. Last year I bought my first home and she was nice enough to let me take it back. It's been in my yard since early September 2006. It is pretty yellow and I'm sure it needs some type of food or fertilizer. It would be great if someone could help me determine either what type of tree it is or what type of food/care to give it. Thanks. -Mike
Thanks for the help everyone. Not sure if this matters, it was green up until January and then we started getting lots of snow, freezing rain, etc. We still had snow 4 weeks ago. Do you think the cold weather did it in?
for me is planted more deep, or not good dreinage,if you planted again in autum use around the trunk mature fertilize of cow or hourse .alex
Hello young Padawan, The plant can probably survive those conditions if it is established, but having had its root system disturbed by transplant, it wasn't able to continue to deliver water and nutrients. Because evergreens keep their leaves all year, they are transpiring water all the time and cold conditions can be quite dessicating. Or, it may have already lost its grip on life in September if that month was hot and dry, obviously needing water delivery on a constant basis then. Evergreens often take their time to show they're dead, as needles do stay deceptively green for a bit. Moving a plant of this size is thus best done at certain times of year - early spring, or early fall (September may have been too early). In climates with really harsh winters it is probably best to transplant in spring only, and to water well and/or protect from sun through the first summer. After fall planting they just don't have their roots established well enough to get through those winters. Alex may also be right that you might have planted it at the wrong depth or that your local conditions may be too soggy as opposed to too dry. Now would be a great time to replace it with a new plant, and keep an eye on what the conditions are. If the ground is consistently damp, plant it in a bit of a mound so the roots don't rot, and if the ground is very dry, then don't plant deep but be sure to water adequately. If you know what the conditions are like, you can buy a plant that is adapted to them, and not be fighting nature all the time.
Hello Karin, You sound very knowlegable about transplanting conifers. I recently posted a thread about transplanting a shorepine (Pinus contorta contorta) in January. The tree is dying. It suffered a long, hot summer with inadequate irrigation, was dug around Christmas and followed by a severe winter of unusual snowfall in Vancouver. I realize that transplantring it in the winter was bad idea but I would like to understand more. Could you give me any more insight? Any suggestions on saving it's life? It is not waterlogged. Thank you.
Well, sounding knowledgeable and being knowledgeable are two different things. The issue of transplanting is tough enough that I started this thread a while back trying to understand more as well, but didn't end up that much smarter: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=19948 For your pine tree, I don't know that there is much you can do at this point but wait and see if it is sprouting. I think most pines should have new growing tips by now. It may look bad even if it is not dead as it will be shedding old needles even as it sprouts anew. I would suggest that you ensure it is firmly planted and neither waterlogged nor dry, but if it succumbed in winter I don't think there is much more you can do. By the way, for more input it might be best to revive your thread rather than using this one.
