Hello all. This is my first post. My wife and I purchased a really nice weeping cherry. I have absolutely over watered this poor guy. I have learned my lesson. The soil is very good (no clay) and well drained (until I got out the hose). I am not sure if this can be saved? I pulled the mulch back and have stopped all watering. I am thinking of digging the soil back and removing the dirt around the root ball and replacing but not sure what to do. Currently I have put a few holes with a broom handle to try and dry it out. It rained like heck here so before it rained I put plastic over the root ball and left an opening around the trunk and covered the holes I made. Heres the pictures, Have I killed this once great tree? The tree is only 1 week old?
Soil looks dry to me. Why do you think it's wet? You poked around in it and found it to be sodden? Going by pictures only it looks like the tree dried out and wilted from that.
I was able to push a broom stick about 6-8" down next to root ball and could hear that mucky wet sound. That was this evening. the pics were taken on Saturday. The leaves are going brown with holes in them if you look real close. At first I thought it was shocked from transplanting from nursery. Thanks.....
What about the top layers? Dry on top, wet in the bottom of the hole only? If the hole is collecting water it will need to be re-planted. If the roots have been suffocated and killed, causing the entire top to wilt then the tree probably is a loss. I'd want to make sure that is what happened before giving up on it. If it turned out that it was instead wilted due to drying of the (upper) soil and needed merely to be watered then it would be too bad if it didn't get it because it was thought it was too wet instead.
When I pulled back the mulch on Sat. The soil on top of the root ball was soaked. This evening I stuck the holes next to the root ball to see if it was wet and in an attempt to dry the ball out. Of course it rained tonight but put the plastic over the holes I made this evening not to soak even more. Thoughts??? Is it a goner?
Did it come in a claylike soil ball? A common problem is drying of rootballs of field frown stock before they are purchased by final consumers, resulting in watering problems - the claylike field soil not re-wetting readily after planting. If it came in a field soil ball and it were mine I'd want to make sure the entire ball was damp all the way through before I decided the tree was definitely too wet rather than dry.
It did come in a burlap ball and I cut back the burlap back (a tanish soil under the burlap) not that rich black soil. I used the drip lines for 20 minutes a day (as other plants are in this planting bed) way to much I am aware of now. My wife and I also watered with a hose. This is what is making me think its drowning.
Wilting would indicate it's drowned rather than drowning, the top not getting water because the small roots that take up water having drowned and died. Pull it up and plant it in a new spot, or dump drier soil on the existing muddied soil and re-plant in that, well above the sogginess. Then hope it bounces back somehow. Second fact sheet linked to in list tells how to plant using modern methods. http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda Chalker-Scott/Fact sheets.html
Well Thank you very much for the help! That will be the plan of attack first thing in the A.M. I have my doubts but am hoping for a miracle with this tree. This was totally my fault and can't express how sick I am over this move on my part.....
