Kentucky Coffeetree seedling problems

[foxfamily30]

About two months ago I planted a few Kentucky Coffeetree seeds, following the instructions on the package. I stuck them in large pots and I had four come up. One promptly wilted and died (no idea why). Another sent up a bud, but the leaves were deformed and it never fully opened and withered and died. The other two have grown well until a couple of weeks ago when they stopped growing and started getting yellow leaves. Now one of the trees is half bare and the other isn't far behind. I have been keeping them watered (moist, not wet) and they get around 7 hours of sunshine. Is there something wrong with them, or could the winter sun be making them think it is autumn. I thought about fertilizing them, but I heard that was hard on young trees. Not that they need it though, because they are in a mix of potting soil and rich Iowa black dirt (with a little sand and gravel in the bottom for drainage). I am trying to change about an acre and a half of land into a woodlot and I think these trees would work well along the edge, but not if they die before spring. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[begleytree]

by any chance does that rich black iowa dirt contain any herbicide?
KY coffeetrees like a more sandy soil, so you may be holding too much water on the roots, they like drainage. And the ph of your soil may be low, they prefer limestone soils, higher ph in limestone than the rich black humus soil its in now.
But, like Dan said, most of it's probably reduced lighting.
-Ralph

 

[foxfamily30]

The dirt came from our 100% organic garden, so there should be no chemicals present (it's been a garden for 10+ years). There is a little sand mixed in, but maybe not enough, because the dirt in the pots from the dead trees held its shape somewhat when compressed. I'll have to check the ph, but it should be fairly neutural. Can you add lime on top of the soil or when you water, or does it have to be mixed into the soil?

I couldn't find any insect damage on the dead trees and as far as disease, all I could tell is the tap root had gotten spongey. Maybe the deformed tree was because I didn't file a large enough hole in the seed coat.

Your right I should have waited and started the seeds in March or April instead of in the late fall (November), but what can I do now?

By the way, does anyone have suggestions (or seed sources) for shade loving bushes or plants that will help naturalize once my trees grow and fill in?

 

[CaseyForrest]

Yes you can add Lime to the soil and water it in, its best if you mix it in initially though. Id say they may be a little wet. Ive always thought that you should let soil dry out between waterings. You want to keep it moist while you are getting seeds to pop, but let the soil dry out between watering after. Not sure about the light, when I was doing Landscaping back in MD, we would always push all the plant material that we used in the home shows so they would be green. We would put everything we were taking into one of the greenhouses, set the temp to 75, leave the lights on, and in about a month everything was green.