hi there! I planted a weeping cherry tree and the following day we received a TON of rain. Actually, it rained heavily the following 2 weeks. I live in the midwest and I have heavy clay soil. I know "pure" cherries prefer well-drained soil, but I'm thinking the rootstock it's grafted to is happy in the clay because many of my neighbors have healthy 7-10 year old weeping cherry trees. :-) It was container grown; I did my best to release roots prior to planting, but they were wrapped pretty tight in the container. I was afraid of damaging them. I had to amend the backfill to about 50/50 original soil (which is clay) and humus/compost/topsoil mix. It's just about impossible to plant anything here and use only the clay to refill the hole. I have a 2-3in layer of mulch over the area. Due to the massive amount of rainfall, the leaves on my new tree are curling, yellowing, wilting, and I think I will lose most of them in the coming weeks. The branches are all still green if I gently scratch the bark, which is a good sign. I am patiently waiting for the ground to dry. We've had a rain-free week, but everything is still very saturated under the mulch. Does this tree have a good chance of recovering or is it a goner b/c it hasn't had time to establish roots since planting? Would it be wise to pull back the mulch in an effort to dry the soil faster, or will that just result in boiled roots? If I do lose all the leaves, is it likely the tree will remain dormant until spring? Any advice/reassurances welcome! :-) Thx, Becky
I always have to preface my comments here with a disclaimer that I don't grow trees and have no personal knowledge on the subject. But probably the response to the New Cherry tree dying? (Help!) thread applies to you as well: I don't have answers to your specific questions.
Thanks - I did read that post, but since the OP didn't have an over-watering issue, I didn't think that response really applied to my situation. I'm more concerned about the rootstock's ability to survive the drowning period. I think I'll just wait it out and see what happens in the spring. Fingers crossed!
