Too much water (from rain)

[Robby-T]

I planted a blue spruce in my yard, which is normally a nice, well draining, dry spot. The tree has been in the ground about a month and it's about 4' tall. We have been getting an unusual and relentless amount of rain this summer. So much so that we have not watered it manually but it is still showing signs of too much water. What can I do? Aerate the roots? Is it too young? Cover the base with some kind of cone to prevent water from getting to it? Any help is appreciated

 

[SCMtnHaul]

Stop doing that damn rain dance already! Hopefully the tree wasn't planted too deep and the root crown isn't staying soggy. It's always hard on plants if they get inundated with water right after planting. For instance I avoid planting anything that's very drought tolerant too close to the rainy season. If runoff water would stay away from the tree's roots you could get creative with a large umbrella as long as wind isn't an issue. I have a client who uses umbrellas on really hot days to shade certain plants in her garden.
As a worst case scenario you could dig up the tree and re-pot it if the ground is fully saturated and no signs of drying out on the horizon, but I think that's a bit of a "Hail Mary pass".

Assuming the weather lets up and the tree survives you might boost the beneficial soil life to help fight off disease--I like to top dress with earthworm castings and rich compost, or when I had more time I would brew compost tea and drench the roots. Feed the soil and the soil will take care of your plants.

 

[Robby-T]

I appreciate the response. I was careful not to plant too deep. If anything it may be an inch or two too high, but I have the 2.5' around it covered with wood chips. Should I pull some of that away to allow it the breathe and dry out faster? Its in a windy spot so airflow is great. The water isn't pooling, but our soil is high in clay but drainage tests has it draining okay before I planted and I replaced some of the clay with a more loamy/sandy soil as well to help out.

 

[SCMtnHaul]

Definitely remove the mulch since it will only help retain moisture. But it should be ok to replace the mulch once you get past this water issue.

 

[Robby-T]

Ill do that today. I appreciate the help!