First time homeowner and thus first time doing any sort of landscaping including planting trees. Had 7 green giants put in about three weeks ago and within a couple of days noted just the ends of the branches were orange with fairly normal colored foliage that I attributed to newer growth that hasn't become a normal color yet. Over time, the orange coloration to the branches seems to be extending further towards the inside of the tree but foliage remains fairly normal color.
Live in the Midwest, zone 5, with sandy soil. The landscaper convinced me the trees would do just fine if I put them in during the summer with adequate watering and scheduled the irrigation system to water these trees for 60 minutes a day. While I was investigating things a little I noted they wrongly piled mulch up against the trunk and didn't even remove the twine or burlap which I'm reading isn't great. With this , I'm also second guessing the watering plan now and looking for advice in general.
Am I killing these trees or do they look fine?
by iamtyphoidmary
12 Comments
well if they did not take the cage or burlap off that needs to be done. (this will not kill them out right but it will hurt them greatly and any other stressors with put them over the edge.) you really only need to water them twice a day at most and not at midday. morning and evening if the days are really hot and if not just in the evening. (i work as a gardener but i still learn new thing every day so if anyone here knows more please speak up)
First and foremost, transplanting trees mid summer is the worst time to do it. They are way more susceptible to shock.
That being said, they will likely continue to show signs of stress as summer progresses and may not appear to recover untill next season. Green giants are very hardy, far more so than leylands and can take a serious beating.
Keep em watered at least every other day (solid drenching) and they will be fine. They absolutely do not need 60 minutes of watering a day unless it’s just a drip feed.
They honestly look fine from the pics.
Try to get them out of the burlap, or at least cut the burlap a few times vertically around the tree. I give mine a good soak once a week and they are doing great. Good luck!
Just water when needed. Check if the soil is moist. Arbs do not like wet feet ( wet roots)
Irrigations not going to do it depending especially what you mean by irrigation. That’s probably the number one fatal flaw. They also look like they’re planted high but I can’t really tell. The fact that they are still in the burlap open or not should have nothing to do with whether they are fresh looking or not. Remember these plants could sit in a nursery for a year and still come out of the nursery in pretty decent condition, why? Because they water water water and this is the number one mistake that homeowners make the number one mistake. They are clueless out of water or understand what part of the plant needs water. This is a b&b plant and the ball itself must be wet hopefully it was put wet or well watered into the hole. It’s a fatal flaw to put a dry plant in the hole or even flood the hole with water without making sure the ball itself is soaked. When you water it should be a soaker hose if that’s it on the trunk of each one of these and the ball itself must be watered. Some overspray from some lawn sprinkler is guaranteed death for these plants they will never reach the part that they need. If this was truly Sandy soil and a difficult thing to keep irrigated I would have also used soil polymers worth all the money. Good luck with it go out and water
Yes, but they will kill themselves eventually
I’ve planted several green giants. I prefer them over Leland cypress and and other evergreens for screening. They’re generally very hardy and I’ve had them grow in really dark areas as well as sunny. You don’t even need to water them that much after the first season or so. Your’s look fine. I’ve had mine much more stressed out in the first year than that and they are fine and large now. I wouldn’t worry unless you start seeing widespread browning or dropping needles.
Seems likes a stupid idea it’s a perfectly good tree
Mine did this too.but they should be fine. Just make sure they get enough water. Mine are now about 2 months in and some of them have already done some noticeable growth.
I would be scared of this much mulch, too, and the burlap sack not being cut. Combined, that 60 minutes/day of water might be too much except on the really hot days.
It is peak summer season, so I’d almost cut the watering back to 15 minutes/day for a bit (let the existing water get absorbed or drained) and then settle in 30 minutes/day until the weather cools. That heavy mulch and the uncut sack are gonna hold water, and those trees don’t like to hang out in wet soil.
❤️
Watering these for 60 minutes a day sounds excessive, even for a summer transplant.
I am watering my new trees every third day in the summer heat, which has been working fine. 🌳