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Watching helplessly as spruce type tree browning... and browning....


jeffpas
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I don't know exactly what type of tree these are, but they are Norway Spruce-ish and I planted one on each side of the porch last year.
Due to differences in shade, one soon grew 1.5x the size of the other, making it look ridiculous from the street.
So, I had to pull them out.   After hades-like work in the tropical Midwest summer heat, I got a good chunk of root ball about a foot deep, and moved the big one further out into the yard.   All well and good.   Its kept straight without any staking, and we're about two weeks in.

Except for the browning.
The tree has started browning, all on the TIPS.   The brown is working its way gradually down, but the bases of each needle stalk still are green.
Which brings us to the endless gameshow question in plant care.   Does it need water.... or is it overwatered?

It certainly got some good dousings for awhile after planting.   Also for mowing sake I added a 2 ft wide plastic circle ring around the tree base, which  was flat plastic but had a ring of punch holes in it for drainage.  This was meant to hold river rock, which I added.    Looks great.  Except for the apparently dying tree.

My lingering thought is that somehow the ring is not allowing the ground underneath to breathe, and root rot is setting in.   But then, why would the national hardware chain sell them with said instructions, if they killed trees?
The soil underneath feels moist, and when poking a moisture meter in, it reads moist, perhaps even 10 (very moist) further down.
So, no further waterings have occurred for about a week now, and the ground has stayed moist.
I'm inclined to say leave it alone, but rain is forecasted the next 3 or 4 days.
Got me, I have no idea.


 

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Moving it it the heat wasn't the best bet. What is probably happening is that a lot of the tiny fibrous roots, that are involved with taking water up, were lost in the transplanting process. Then replanting in full sun the tree is losing water (transpiration) without the ability to take up as much as it needs because there's insufficient roots to do so. These small, almost microscopic roots do grow quickly and trees are constantly replacing them, so don't give up up. 

 

To add to it's distress, without being staked the movement of the tree in the wind can tear those small roots, so they're trying to extend into the surrounding soil and then being damaged as the tree/stem/roots move in the wind - secure the root system!

You don't need a big stake, put a couple of stakes either side of the planting hole with a timber cross bar (square or rectangular in section) close to the bottom of the stem. Use a proper tree tie, with a cushion between the stem and supporting cross piece and secure the stem. The idea is to secure the roots in place (movement of the stem above will actually encourage the stem to thicken)

 

The plastic ring could be inhibiting water getting around the roots to where it's needed, can't judge without knowing just how porous it actually is. Preference though would be to remove it and replace it with a good organic mulch, composted woodchip is great. A nice big circle with a radius as big as you can bare to look at (close to a yard/metre if possible. The organic mulch will reduce evaporation of the water in the soil and help keep it moist - when you water the tree, really water it not just a bucket or two which moistens the top layer of the soil and encourages roots near the surface that then get drought prone if watering stops/it's hot and dry - you want to encourage deeper roots where the moisture level is more consistent. 

 

Will it survive? I don't know. All you can do is to ensure that the surrounding soil contains water for whatever roots are present and hope for the best. It doesn't look too bad yet but could go ever way. Not knowing your climate I can't judge whether it's going to continue to worsen because it's losing water quicker than it can take it up. You could however lift it again, pot it up and move it somewhere cooler and more shaded to give it a chance to grow some roots before planting it out again when/if it recovers.

 

 Good luck.

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My feeling is that it is delayed post move shock (certainly understandable given how hard it was to pull out and move) and at the moment that it is now recovering.  
This tree was just barely small enough to dig out and move, its about 7 feet tall.   But it couldn't stay where it was.
I am confused though because the soil feels wet in the 'holes' of the plastic circle, and a moisture meter shows a '10' further down.  Apparently the soil is very wet below the root ball, so my inclination is to leave it alone.    At any rate, rain for the next few days so that debate at least now is moot.

I wish I knew what kind of tree this is, as I said I bought 4 on clearance.   The two I originally planted in full sun at a different house are very cool looking now, nothing like they did in the pots.     They have sweeping arms that look rather prehistoric.  
My attempt to keep the two at my house the same height when they were porch sentinels resulted in me cutting off the top leader at one point on this one which of course failed,  which is why you see the crick in the middle. 

I still have a 4th, its porch companion which is badly hunkered due to it being on the heavily shaded side of the porch, about 1/2 the size of this one.    That one I pulled out and is in a pot, and appears to be doing fine at  the moment.   Although its still sitting under a large tree, in about the same shaded location.   Might give it to a neighbor.
 

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