Any tips on taking care of my newly planted 3 foot tall weeping cherry tree? I live in the northeast, suburb of NYC and my soil is rocky. I removed lots of rocks and added potting mixture before planting. It is a memorial to a recently departed loving pet and she is buried 2 feet below. Thanks in advance Lois
The potting soil back-fill was a mistake. Also if the tree came growing in potting soil that should have been removed. In addition to these and other points concerned with the installation operation this also talks about aftercare: https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/Planting-fact-sheet.pdf
3 foot tall tree was probably not in a very big container. If there was no root circling, then there is no acute necessity for unearthing and replanting it. Bare root planting should be done in spring. Containered plants can be planted all year round, unless the soil is frozen. It is not good idea to disturb roots very much in the autumn, because possible root damages can take more time to heal, than the time till frosts allows, so I would not remove the potting soil from the root ball.
The Myth of Fragile Roots - “You shouldn’t disturb the rootball when transplanting trees and shrubs” https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/fragile-roots.pdf
Thank you for all your helpful replies. The plant was in a container at the nursery. The soil was certainly not frozen. I'm watering it about 3 times a week and checking soil infiltration down to approximately 1 foot. A little unsure of how much to water it but have been checking the infiltration after watering. I noticed it was tilted and so purchased some stakes and string to attempt to straighten it. It seems a bit straighter, not as much as I'd have liked but I'm afraid to put too much force on my fragile plant.
If you have no drought, then there is no need for watering so often in the autumn. In the summer, when it's hot and dry, then trees that are recently planted need frequent watering. I don't know, how much trees are planted by the Mythbuster Linda, but as a forester I have planted tens of thousands trees, both bare rooted and containerized, and I know for sure, that container plants, that have lower root disturbance, have better survival rate than bare rooted plants. That's why container plants are widely used in nowadays forestry. Just do not buy mishandled container plants with serious rootball issues. Do not support gardening companies/tree nurseries, that produce crippled trees. Don't pay extra for bad root system. Buy a bare rooted plant instead, if you prefer to plant bare rooted plants.
I know for sure, that container plants, that have lower root disturbance, have better survival rate than bare rooted plants Controls? Because if you haven't used controls, you don't actually have a consistent, reliable basis for comparison. Also there is a difference between buying previously bare-rooted stock that has been in cold storage for months before purchase and bare-rooting a container or field grown plant at planting time, that is kept moist during the planting process. And not left to fend for itself afterward, without any post planting watering - which is what happens to forestry plantings.
What about your controls? You are comparing defective containerized plants with serious root ball issues, that are left without addressing at planting time, with similar defective plants, that are treated to remedy the problem. I do not understand, why you (and the Mythbuster Linda) expect defective plants by default? Isn't there any quality control in Canada? I compare quality bare root plants with quality containerized plants. Believe me, there was no freezing of plants for months here 30 years ago! I think, that I have very consistent, reliable basis for comparison, compared with you. As I mentioned in my first posting in this thread, there is no need for replanting, if there was no root ball issues. I have planted several 3 foot tall cherrys and if the container size has been appropriate, there was no serious root ball issues at that age. A link to a Canadian research about containerized vs bare root: (PDF) Bareroot versus container stocktypes: a performance comparison
Why to buy costlier container plants, if your best practice is removing the potting soil from roots before planting? Just buy bare root plants, so you can avoid most root girdling and twistling issues. I planted some fig seeds this spring. All these figs on the attached photo are sown the same day the same medium the same conditions, but they sprouted at different time. Three plants with very different heights in the foreground are repotted (from right) 3, 4 and 5 times respectively during this summer. I never removed previous potting soil when replanted.
