Shantung Maple dying, need help. Possible overwatering?

[glocklt4]

You're not going to do anything harmful by applying a fungicide treatment targeted at root diseases, like phytopthera. Going back to the sweetgum, it is possible that it had developed root rot prior to removal, and phytopthera does persist in the soil. Just an insurance policy. Man, don't be scared to call out an arborist. They may see something we're completely missing here doing this with pictures.

OK, good to know. I actually just got off the phone with Monster Tree Service here in Dallas and scheduled an arborist to come out Wed morning. I figured any fee they might charge to diagnose and save the tree would be less than the cost and hassle of replacing yet again. I honestly am so mad about this that I might not even replace it again at this point. Prior to this I would have thought I have a decent green thumb having one of the better landscaped houses in our neighborhood, but definitely being proven wrong.

 

[glocklt4]

Was the burlap removed?

With balled and burlaped lots of times dirt is thrown into the bag on top of the root system and this can throw people off when planting trees and shrubs to the right depth. This dirt needs removed until the surface level that it was planted and grown in the field is reached.

Generally container grown is best as the whole root system is intact where balled and burlaped usually has some of it's root system cut off.

It's very important with container grown to inspect the root system to be sure no roots are circling the container.

Often times balled and burlaped trees have the ends of the roots more or less torn off Vs clean cuts. It's important that these rough tears are pruned again to remove these tears.

We did not remove the burlap since it was expected to just rot, but did cut away the upper parts of the metal cage. As a certified noob with trees, I wasn't aware of how to do the right height with this kind, so maybe it is in deed too low still. I hired a guy from the nursery to help me replace this one since the burlap ball was even harder to maneuver than the container, but now I think he didn't really know what he was doing and was just more of a day laborer than knowledgeable tree installer, ha.

I would have guessed as you said that container with more roots is better too. Makes sense why a burlap ball would have more roots cut away.

The tree has really looked great until the past few weeks when this heat has hit.

 

[Del_]

We did not remove the burlap since it was expected to just rot, but did cut away the upper parts of the metal cage. As a certified noob with trees, I wasn't aware of how to do the right height with this kind, so maybe it is in deed too low still. I hired a guy from the nursery to help me replace this one since the burlap ball was even harder to maneuver than the container, but now I think he didn't really know what he was doing and was just more of a day laborer than knowledgeable tree installer, ha.

I would have guessed as you said that container with more roots is better too. Makes sense why a burlap ball would have more roots cut away.

The tree has really looked great until the past few weeks when this heat has hit.

Some 'burlap' is plastic and never rots. A lighter will tell you. If it burns it is burlap where plastic will start to melt first when exposed to a lighter.

 

[glocklt4]

Some 'burlap' is plastic and never rots. A lighter will tell you. If it burns it is burlap where plastic will start to melt first when exposed to a lighter.

Good news, this one is not plastic. Just tested with a bit that's still left. I know what you're talking about with the woven plastic bag type though.

 

[Jed1124]

Got it, that makes sense then. When planting the tree I used the soil recommended by the nursery which seemed very good and like well draining soil. Some of that went on top of the outside edges of the root ball, but I made sure not to do too much near the trunk.

If you added soil that is well draining at the bottom and around the sides of the planting hole and the native soil is heavy clay you may have caused a perched water table. Basically, the water is moving quickly through your added medium and collecting in the bottom of the planting hole.

 

[glocklt4]

If you added soil that is well draining at the bottom and around the sides of the planting hole and the native soil is heavy clay you may have caused a perched water table. Basically, the water is moving quickly through your added medium and collecting in the bottom of the planting hole.

Yes, that definitely seems like a possibility. We tried to compact the dirt in well around the root ball. The dirt added was recommended by the nursery, and it was not very light and extremely well draining soil like pebbles or something that would just let it flow right down to the base though. When I dug into that soil last night (but a few hours after watering) it was well soaked (but not standing water). I will do another test dig into that dirt this evening to see how wet/dry it is.

This type of thing is what I thought the 20gal watering bag would have been great at helping with (and why I got one this time compared to last year), to be sure water goes into the root ball at a slow pace for it to soak up without flooding the entire clay hole.

 

[BrentStir]

I have a few questions:
1) What problems/symptoms did the sweetgum tree have?
2) When you planted the maples, did you pull the soil away from trunk to locate the root flare, then ensure that the flare was slightly above soil grade?
3) If NO to #2, can you go find the root flare and see how far below soil grade it is? Don't count the mulch height, just soil.
4) Did you add any fertilizer, or did your soil contain fertilizer?
5) Was this in a container when you got it?
6) Was the container soil more wet, more dry, or in between?
7) Have any herbicides or fertilizers been applied to lawn recently?

This is just a start, there may be more.

I would like to add was the soil in the container clay like yours or a different soil like sand or loam?

 

[glocklt4]

I would like to add was the soil in the container clay like yours or a different soil like sand or loam?

Soil around the burlap ball looks/feels/acts very clay-like, but more orange/sand colored than our black/gray clay here.

I should also note that the soil added around the ball wasn't JUST the soil the nursery sold. We did mix in the better of the soil that came out of the hole from the Shantung that died last year. I think it would have been a decent mix because of this.

 

[Bullseye T&L]

I would like to add was the soil in the container clay like yours or a different soil like sand or loam?

Yes, good point. Too bad all this didn't get discussed before that big heavy joker went into the hole. I always do a gradient of soil texture from the ball soil to the native and ammend as I see fit. Hope he doesn't have to pull it out and start over.

 

[glocklt4]

PHC arborist stopped by from a company my father has used in the past. He agrees overwatered. Also agreed the additional fertilizer didn't help the situation this time of year, but read through the label closely and didn't think it was fertilizer burn (or if there was some, it was minor due to overwatering anyway). Did not suspect fungal disease, but did note a few black spots on some of the leaves, also indicating high moisture.

He recommended letting it dry out further and only water 3x/week without the 20gal bag. Said the tree should make it based on what he's seeing but might lose some limbs. Just have to see in spring. He drove a rebar rod into several spots to help air it out (like I did around the trunk a couple days ago). It seems to me that the condition hasn't gotten worse since Monday when I realized overwatering was a possibility, so that's a good sign at least. I'm monitoring it closely.