I bragged on here two months ago about how well my bloodgood was doing. Since then the leaves started to curl and drop off. some branches are dead. I was told it was to wet. I do have heavy soil and I did not plant on a burm. I quess I did not do my research. My tree Has went through 2 Iowa winters and had been doing great. I have aerated the soil,removed all mulch, incorporated humous and even put a small tile around the tree since early spring. Things were looking better, then we started getting a lot of rain. My whole acre has been wet for about a month now. My question is, should I dig it out and replant above soil line now, wait until dormancy or wait til spring and see what happens?
If it has verticillium or another pathogen that enters the plant it is in the plant now. If just getting drowned getting it above water would help. Dig it up when dormant (leafless).
You say you added humus - which is peat, which holds onto water terribly, and that's bad for maples. They need sandy, gritty soil, lots of gravel, etc. and a good chance to begin drying out before being watered again. If it's not planted in a very well drained area, you will have trouble. Don't dig it again yet, but wait a month - just hope it has a chance to dry out better before then.
Peat or other soil amendments having a tendency to absorb water not a problem, it is the coarser texture of amended planting areas (and rootballs of container grown plants left in potting soil after planting in ground) relative to often finely textured unamended soil around amended zones that is the problem. Amended holes dug out of fine texture, heavy soils will often tend to collect water during wet conditions and also shed it during dry conditions, the coarser textured created by digging in peat (or bark, compost, sand...) being more significant than the retentiveness of the peat. That is why newly planted stock with soilless potting media still on roots often needs frequent watering, the finer textured natural soil around it has a greater attraction for water than the potting medium does--even when it is a peat based potting compost.
What you have said makes sense. The area that the JM was planted was a large area that had been dug out for several plantings. 8'x15' area. Everything else looks fine. Leucoth, alberta spruce, endless summer and various perrennials. When I replant if it is still alive by dormancy, should I be doing anything to the soil, other than raising it above soil line? In the beginning I did nothing other that till, added in a lot of compost to the whole area and mound it all. When I planted I put some root stimulant in the hole and watered it all in well. Then mulched with shredded cypress. This is pretty typical of how I plant most things on my property .
If your roots are rotting now, the more you wait the less chances you give your tree to recover. And Fall weather is normally wet, so not likely to dry out Gomero
