replanted cypress/conifers - are they dead?
 

Hi all,

1st time post.


I live in Ireland, and in the middle of May I got approx 25 cypress/conifers from a friends garden to replant in my own.

They are about 18 - 24inches high, so I'm guessing were approx 2yrs old?

Anyway, I replanted them in my own garden but they have turned from green to brown. This happened over the space of maybe 3 or 4 weeks. I now think they were lacking in water, as I wasn't watering them myself, letting nature do it.

For the last 10 days or so I have been watering them heabvily, and I intend to continue to see if they will recover.

But I'm wonering if I am too late? Are they already dead or beyond saving?

replanted cypress/conifers - are they dead?
 

RMCF wrote:
Hi all,

1st time post.


I live in Ireland, and in the middle of May I got approx 25
cypress/conifers from a friends garden to replant in my own.

They are about 18 - 24inches high, so I'm guessing were approx 2yrs
old?


Anyway, I replanted them in my own garden but they have turned from
green to brown. This happened over the space of maybe 3 or 4 weeks. I
now think they were lacking in water, as I wasn't watering them
myself, letting nature do it.


What did nature do? Was there any rain? Was the soil around these
transplants damp at all or bone dry?

Were these trees bare-rooted or did they have a root ball covered in soil?
Did you just go and dig them up or were they established in pots? They need
to be treated somewhat differently depending on the case.

For the last 10 days or so I have been watering them heabvily, and I
intend to continue to see if they will recover.


Once the soil is damp watering more will not help and can make it worse by
encouraging fungus or suffocating the roots, plants can drown in this way,
especially in heavy soil. You would be better off not watering until the
soil needs it. Dig down the depth of your finger in the root zone and feel
the soil. If it is wet do not water more. If it is damp water in a few
days time. If it is quite dry water now.

But I'm wonering if I am too late? Are they already dead or beyond
saving?

My guess is that they are dead. A transplant properly done in spring should
still look alive and a month later should be showing some signs of new
shoots.

Next time prepare the sites where you are going to plant beforehand and
water in the transplants. Get a book from the library on basic gardening,
it should describe the process in more detail. Watering in does two things,
supplies water that the plants need and it settles the soil about the roots
more intimately so the root hairs can quickly get going absorbing water.
This doesn't mean turning the area into a bog.

David

Thanks for that info. I do think they are dead, unfortunately.