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Help - my new Judas Tree is dying!
Bill_and_Ben
Posts: 161
We bought a Judas Tree (cercis siliquastrum) from a good nursery and planted it 2 weeks ago today (18th July)- wide hole with stakes either side as per first photo below and some Growmore general fertiliser mixed with the soil.. It looked lovely for the first 10 days or so but in the last few days many leaves started to go yellow and in the last day or so many leaves are shrivelled, going brown and falling off. We've been watering it every day if it's not rained a lot. Help! Any ideas?
We're in East Anglia (Cambridge) and it's been quite windy any very hot yesterday (33C). Should we be watering it more? Less?
We're in East Anglia (Cambridge) and it's been quite windy any very hot yesterday (33C). Should we be watering it more? Less?
My location: Histon, near Cambridge, UK
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Definitely the wrong time of year to plant trees. I wonder how a reputable nursery would not advise you against making such a mistake.
In hot, dry or windy weather, sometimes plants lose water from their leaves faster than the roots can take it up. Could you erect some sort of shelter to shade it a bit and keep the wind off? Again, just until the tree is well settled.
I agree it needs more water. Do as Josusa47 says. Make sure you pour the water in slowly and use a bucket. A small watering can full isn't enough.
Generally trees should be planted in late autumn or winter. Good nurseries should tell you that.
I love the rest of your garden, though! Beautiful.
That's a very sweeping generalisation though. It entirely depends on where you live, and what your climate is like.
I've often planted shrubs and trees at this time of year - and also moved them without any problem.
It's the aftercare that matters.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@Fairygirl is correct that it is too sweeping a generalisation to say trees should never be planted at this time of year - but down here in E Anglia it's an uphill task to keep on top of every day watering in a normal summer - let alone trying to establish a largish shrub / small tree when it's been so hot and dry. The ground here in Suffolk is baked solid again and very very dry to at least 12" depth.
How much water are you giving the tree and how / when? I would give it 2 or 3 large watering cans full twice a week. That is more effective than (say) half a can every day. I also prefer to water in the evening so the water soaks deep into the ground overnight and doesn't just evaporate.
I would also say that it's been very breezy here over the last couple of weeks and drying winds combined with little (no!) rain and summer temperatures is stressing shrubs planted 4 or 5 years ago in my garden. The wind is as damaging as lack of rainfall.
I knew I was going to get a lot of 'wrong time if year' but I don't get completely bound by that with gardening and my attitude has been fine so far. We had our garden completely landscaped in April/May 2014. The day it finished we went on holiday for 3 weeks so didn't start the planting process until the last week of June. We bought loads of plants at Hampton Court Flower Show and moved a load of existing ones from our front garden where I'd put them temporarily while the landscaping was being done. We watered very generously the rest of that summer and I don't remember losing any. I also am still deciding where things should be and move things around a lot - and not always at the time I am supposed to - and it's usually fine. If instructions tell me I need to do something mid November or February or whenever (Nov-Feb) I am quite unlikely to do it as I hate gardening in the cold!