My Husdand and I just planted 7 new trees 6 of them beining towering poplar and 1 Chubert. We dug 4 foot holes by 4 foot wide and made sure there was some clay and some new top soil added to the holes before planting. Once planted we added Bone Meal and then coved with wood chips to help retain moisture. With that all said three of our poplar have gone from bright green to yellow.......i am assuming they are in shock what can we do if anythinh.......or maybe it is just "Fall" setting in early please any bit of info would help!!!! Thank you
Hi vlhunter, Welcome to the forum. I think that a big part of the problem is the time of year. Late summer is not a good time to do transplants. It just too hot and too dry. Everything you did would be perfect if done is the spring, but that is a moot point now. The roots don't have any time to establish before winter so I suggest a VERY deep layer of mulch for the winter. Just keep them very well watered, don't feed them, and hope for the best. I'm not much of an expert on the matter, so if I'm wrong would someone please correct me. Michael
Can only guess why they are yellow, try checking soil moisture near trees. No way to tell from a distance if they are distressed or just getting autumn color at time they were going to turn anyway. http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda Chalker-Scott/Fact Sheets/Planting fact sheet.pdf
You added clay (which I don't understand) and then a mulch layer, and perhaps it was all too much water retention (leaves yellow when overwatered) even for a new planting - there does need to be somewhere the water can drain to after all.
agree with Rima. if at all possible it is best to backfill with the same soil you removed. adding "good" soil like topsoil that is structurally different than what was originally in the hole can create drainage problems. adding a more silty soil in with your clay will not aid in better drainage, it can actually create what is called a perched water table. also, the time of year isn't ideal to plant new trees. you are right, they might be in "shock". are the leaves cripsy or just yellow?
Ok I THOUGHT I WOULD MAKE A QUICK CORRECTION IT WAS NOT CLAY IT WAS BACK FILL PUT IN THE HOLE THE SAME BACK FILL THAT WAS DUG OUT OF THE HOLES! IN THE BEGINING WE ONLY WATER THEM EVERY OTHER DAY SO THAT WE DID NOT WATER LOG THE ROOT SYSTEM. BUT WHEN I PHONED THE TREE FAMR THEY SAID THAT I SHOULD CONTINUE TO WATER.........THE ALSO SAID YOU CAN PRETTY MUCH PLANT UNTIL THE FISRT SNOW FALL...SO I GUESS ALL THAT INFORMATION WASN'T TRUE!? My Husdand and I just planted 7 new trees 6 of them beining towering poplar and 1 Chubert. We dug 4 foot holes by 4 foot wide and made sure there was some clay and some new top soil added to the holes before planting. Once planted we added Bone Meal and then coved with wood chips to help retain moisture. With that all said three of our poplar have gone from bright green to yellow.......i am assuming they are in shock what can we do if anythinh.......or maybe it is just "Fall" setting in early please any bit of info would help!!!! Thank you[/QUOTE]
optimal planting time is when the trees are dormant, late fall - early spring. exception: don't plant when the ground is frozen, it is too difficult to dig.
