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New Ligustrum Japonicum very unwell after planting
Hi,
Looking for some advice. We had several large Ligustrum Japonicum planted along the border when we had some work done to our garden. They were supplied root balled, but the root balls were removed by our builders before they planted them. The native soil here is quite heavy clay.
They have been planted since mid-May and the leaves are yellowing and dropping off and nothing. They are looking worse day by day and nothing we can do seems to be helping. We have watered them daily with a leaky hose and given them seaweed feed, and digging down the soil at the roots seems moist but not waterlogged. Most concerning is that even where new leaves are trying to grow these new leaves are either going black or going brown at the tips.
We are beginner gardeners and aren't sure what to do about this or whether these trees will even survive, and even if they survive we are concerned the same thing will happen if we replace them.
Any hints, comments or advice would be greatly appreciated as we're out of our depth here and these trees were very expensive.





Looking for some advice. We had several large Ligustrum Japonicum planted along the border when we had some work done to our garden. They were supplied root balled, but the root balls were removed by our builders before they planted them. The native soil here is quite heavy clay.
They have been planted since mid-May and the leaves are yellowing and dropping off and nothing. They are looking worse day by day and nothing we can do seems to be helping. We have watered them daily with a leaky hose and given them seaweed feed, and digging down the soil at the roots seems moist but not waterlogged. Most concerning is that even where new leaves are trying to grow these new leaves are either going black or going brown at the tips.
We are beginner gardeners and aren't sure what to do about this or whether these trees will even survive, and even if they survive we are concerned the same thing will happen if we replace them.
Any hints, comments or advice would be greatly appreciated as we're out of our depth here and these trees were very expensive.





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Posts
Poor planting/preparation of soil, especially heavy soils can be an issue. Secondly, watering substantial amounts deep into the base areas in evenings or early mornings every other day would be far better than trickling water throughout the day in the hotter months.
A thick layer of bark chip or similar helps to seal moisture in and keep roots cool, therefore less likely to get stress over the summer months. Try scraping some twigs to see if they are green underneath. If not, they’re more or less dead.
Finally, I think the positioning of each tree seems to be planted too close. Not the best start for these shrub/trees. They need a bit more space than that.