I had 3 new trees planted on September 13--a red oak (shumard), a bur oak, and a pecan. The planters watered them in well, and I watered 2 or 3 times that first week. Since then, I've watered them once a week for 20-30 minutes using a root feeder about 2' deep. After that much time, water is sitting on the surface. My sprinkler system has run everyday since then as well, though I know that's generally not doing much to soak down to the tree roots.

I'm near Midlothian, TX, where we have clay soil.

The red oak and bur oak are looking pretty scorched. The pecan is too, but not nearly as bad. The landscaper who planted the trees says that I'm not watering enough. He says I have to water everyday but for a shorter (3-5 minute) interval. I'm not sure I believe him, and I think he's just looking for a way to put the blame on me if these things don't make it. I think the problem, if anything, may be overwatering.

Can anyone offer an internet diagnosis?

Red Oak:


Bur Oak:

My shumards did the same thing and I thought I was watering them plenty. I have no idea.

I had the same issue with a red oak that has long since died and been replaced.

Surely you followed the installers watering recommendations so you have some recourse? Sometimes you get bad trees.

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The landscaper who planted the trees says that I'm not watering enough. He says I have to water everyday but for a shorter (3-5 minute) interval.

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I disagree with the landscaper. But I guess he may not refund partially if you didn't follow his direction. Fortunately, November is a great time to plant.

The landscaper's original recommendations were a bit vague. Basically they said keep the soil moist and that in the heat of the summer growing season, that will likely require daily watering. They were big on watering and watering and watering some more, and they stressed that the lawn sprinklers won't do anything to help the trees. So, even though it was mid-September, and we've had a few days of good rain, and my lawn sprinklers run everyday, I have watered these things more than other trees I planted in the past with success.

Now, he's saying it wasn't enough watering. He's saying I should start watering everyday. I suspect he's angling to get out of honoring the warranty, but I'm not really worried about that right now. I'm just afraid that starting to water everyday will be the nail in the coffin, if overwatering is the real issue.

I've had some serious trouble with my Texas redbud I had planted in July. I think I was actually over watering - leaves looked more yellow than scorched but they all fell off. Bark is still green but it's been stressful. Don't know what to tell you, other than it could be transplant stress.

If these trees are supposedly drought resistant, you could be watering too much? Not sure if this is the case with your type of trees, but the company that installed mine said look at the base of the trunk, and if the bark is moving up away from the damp soil, you're overwatering.

At our old house we had a couple of red oak trees in the back. I would plant some of the acorns and sprigs that would grow up in the flower beds in pots. Once they got big enough I would transfer them to our farm up by Dallas to grow.

Long story short, the majority of the trees (75%) in the pots would start doing that and the browning would slowly take over all the leaves and kill the plant. Live oaks faired much better in my pots.

They got plenty of water, so this makes me wonder if they got too much. A few did come through just fine though. Maybe just the good seeds growing well and the crappy ones dying like in the wild..

Could you post a picture of the bases of the trees? When they planted the trees, did they break the root ball up, and try to flare out the roots?

Have you tested the moisture of the soil on all sides of the trees? You can do this with a screw driver. It's easier to push the screw driver in the more moisture there is. It's better to have fewer watering that are deep, than a lot of short ones. Especially in the summer. The key is to make those roots go deeper to find the water, and not be dependent on the sprinklers.

We had a few trees planted recently, and I found the best way to water them was to fill the berm up twice a week when it was at its hottest. Depending on the temperature/forecast, I'm watering once a week or every other week. The trees are a live oak (3" trunk), red bud (2" trunk), and mountain laurel (multi-trunked, 5ft tall).

One of the quickest ways to kill a tree is to over water. Too much water does not allow oxygen to get to the roots. Typically, and dependent on the type of soil, you soak the root ball just after installation and the water once a week at the rate of 3-5 gallons per caliper inch. Clay soils and adjacent irrigation can alter this schedule. My guess is that you are over watering.

How big were the trees in terms of gallons?

Have you fertilized? If so, how much?

Have you thought about a tree gator?

We are having two trees installed Thursday, the tree farm gave me a watering schedule based on tree size, season and other variables like sprinkler system. One is a red oak other is red maple.

They recommended tree gators as opposed to hand watering.

Also recommended a specific type of fertilizer.

Trees are guaranteed for 18 months if we go with the tree gators for water.

This time a year on their water schedule every other day for 15 mins a day is minimum and that's based on a 15 gallon tree, goes up to 90 minutes for 95 gallon tree...no mention of a root feeder though.

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Could you post a picture of the bases of the trees? When they planted the trees, did they break the root ball up, and try to flare out the roots?

Have you tested the moisture of the soil on all sides of the trees? You can do this with a screw driver. It's easier to push the screw driver in the more moisture there is. It's better to have fewer watering that are deep, than a lot of short ones. Especially in the summer. The key is to make those roots go deeper to find the water, and not be dependent on the sprinklers.

We had a few trees planted recently, and I found the best way to water them was to fill the berm up twice a week when it was at its hottest. Depending on the temperature/forecast, I'm watering once a week or every other week. The trees are a live oak (3" trunk), red bud (2" trunk), and mountain laurel (multi-trunked, 5ft tall).

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I'll try to snap pictures of the trunk bases tomorrow morning. I'll say that the scorching appears worst on the lower part of the tree. From what I've read online, that's consistent with overwatering.

I don't believe that the ground ist getting dried out between waterings. My understanding is that the screwdriver test isn't as reliable with clay soil. But the spike for the rootfeeder sinks in without too much difficulty. Plus, clay shrinks and cracks when it gets a little dry, and I don't have any of that going on.

Based on your experience, I definitely wouldn't think I'm underwatering. Since we're past the hottest time of year, I'm watering at least as frequently as you. And I'd guess that 20-30 minutes with the root feeder results in more water under the surface than filling up the berm. That seems to confirm that it's either an overwatering issue, or just shock from transplanting.

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One of the quickest ways to kill a tree is to over water. Too much water does not allow oxygen to get to the roots. Typically, and dependent on the type of soil, you soak the root ball just after installation and the water once a week at the rate of 3-5 gallons per caliper inch. Clay soils and adjacent irrigation can alter this schedule. My guess is that you are over watering.

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Thanks. I haven't measured, but I'd estimate that the root feeder flows at least 2 gpm. So that'd be 40-60 gallons per tree each week, where they only need about 10-15 assuming 3 inch trunks. I'm going to try dialing back the watering this week and go from there.

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How big were the trees in terms of gallons?

Have you fertilized? If so, how much?

Have you thought about a tree gator?

We are having two trees installed Thursday, the tree farm gave me a watering schedule based on tree size, season and other variables like sprinkler system. One is a red oak other is red maple.

They recommended tree gators as opposed to hand watering.

Also recommended a specific type of fertilizer.

Trees are guaranteed for 18 months if we go with the tree gators for water.

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quote:

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This time a year on their water schedule every other day for 15 mins a day is minimum and that's based on a 15 gallon tree, goes up to 90 minutes for 95 gallon tree...no mention of a root feeder though.

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These were 30 gallon. I haven't fertilized. I don't know much about the tree gators, but I'm probably not gonna invest in anything further unless I see some indication that these trees will pull through.

15 minutes every other day seems like a lot to me, but maybe not if you're talking about a trickle. The root feeder puts a lot of water under the surface.

Update:

I called an arborist to come given an assessment. He says that there are chiefly 2 problems:

First, the trees weren't properly planted, especially in light of my clay soil. The hole should've been dug 3x the size of the root ball/container, so as to provide loose soil adjacent to the tree for the roots grow out and get established. I knew this from experience, but I didn't question the professionals, assuming that knew what they were doing. Anyway, by digging a hole just big enough for the tree, the planters effectively made a clay pot in the ground that's holding all of the water and not allowing it to drain well at all. They also should've "shaved" the outer roots that grow in a circle so that the roots are pointed outwardly and encouraged to grow out into the surrounding soil. Of course, we can't tell if they did that or not at this point.

Second, I am overwatering, especially given the area's inability to drain water. He recommended dialing the lawn sprinklers back to once a week and then giving the trees about 30 gallons once every other week. He also said that because the clay soil is off the charts with moisture and the root ball/container soil is sandy and much better draining, I should focus the watering closer to the trunk, where the good-draining soil is.

He also treated for insects because he could tell something had been eating on the trees. (We have a ton of grasshoppers.) And he took tissue samples to send off for analysis to identify any issues with fungal or bacterial disease.