Q. I recently found your blog and wonder if you have any
advice for me about an African Sumac that we planted last October. It did
beautifully through the winter. About a month ago, I started noticing some
leaves curling up, but staying green. Now the lower branches are drooping and
over half of the leaves have curled, but stayed green. Rot? Fungus?
week. No change.
the same results so I can see how it could be either way. The only way to know
for sure is know how wet the soil is when you water again and how much water
you are applying.
over a large area under the tree canopy and don’t water again until it is about
half gone. One of the problems with tree installations by the contractors who
plant for Moon Valley I have been told in the past is the size of the hole they
dig for the tree and lack of amendment added to the soil when planting. This
could be part of the problem for you as well.
the container. If this was a 24 inch box tree then it will be a big hole that
is dug. The hole does not have to be deeper than the container but three times
its width. I don’t know how much amendment was added but it should be about the
same volume as the soil taken from the hole.
there is not much you can do to a tree that was already planted. I tell people
who buy trees to be planted by a contractor from Moon Valley is to pay them
extra cash and have them dig the hole wider.
Buy your own amendment like
Viragrow’s compost and provide it for them instead of the bags they bring. Water
the tree in the hole AS it is being planted and flood the area planted three
times, once a day. Then turn it over to the drip or irrigation system but do
not water daily. Provide enough water each time you irrigate to get it down to
18 inches deep.
Water the area under the canopy of the tree at least half its
width. All its width is better. Use a four foot long stick of rebar to
determine this by pushing it in the soil until it is difficult to push. Water
again when the soil in the upper four inches is starting to dry out.
You can
use a $10 moisture meter to determine this.
Water when it reads “5-6” in three
locations under the tree canopy where you watered.