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Our pleached Red Robin trees look poorly

paul.sharon.reece.t21paul.sharon.reece.t21 Posts: 3
in Problem solving
We planted a couple of pleached Red Robin trees for screening, in May 2023. The soil is very clay so we mixed loads of manure, topsoil and other enrichment whilst prepping the holes. The trees aren’t doing very well.they just don’t seem to be bushing out and lots of the leaves turn red, then brown and fall off. We watered well in the beginning with weekly chicken dung fertiliser but with the extreme weather of late, rain water drains down to the trees and making the soil sodden which sits and takes days sometimes to drain away, so we have not watered them, as the soil still feels wet. Any ideas as to what we are doing wrong? 

Posts

  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    @paul.sharon.reece.t21.

    I'm afraid it sounds like the underlying ground is not draining well and has most probably been compacted by the building heavy machinery. It's a common problem on new building estates.

    Unfortunately there's no easy answer but hopefully other posters might have some ideas on what you could do. Sorry I can't help.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Did you improve the soil over the whole area, or just in planting holes? If the latter, they are probably acting like sumps in the surrounding clay.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited September 2023
    @paul.sharon.reece.t21 Photinias don't like very wet soil. Did you dig some test pits before planting to see what was going on underground, they may have hit a pan of soil and they cannot get their roots down any further.
    I am not sure how successful growing Photinia in this way is they can act like a sail in a windy site. Also the leaves burn in a cold wind and defoliate, this has happened with a Photinia I have recently inherited in a new garden. The leaves have grown back but it is a poor specimen.
    These expensive plants are grown as instant screening but in truth 'instant' doesn't happen in a garden. It is the smaller cheap shrubs that get going and grow quickly whilst these large specimens that have been flattened into shape struggle.
    Sorry not the best start to your first post.

    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • paul.sharon.reece.t21paul.sharon.reece.t21 Posts: 3
    Thanks to you all for the responses. I fear we may have made an expensive error. I hope they perk up a bit if the warmth dries the soil a bit, but won’t hold my breath…
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @paul.sharon.reece.t21 Where did you buy them from you could ask for their advice. I assume there was some sort of conversation as it was such an expensive purchase. Garden Centres may be less helpful but a local nurseryman who just supplies trees and has a depth of knowledge might offer some advice. Any plant that sits in a very wet soil for any length of time, then the soil freezes may not survive.

     
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Further to @GardenerSuze ‘s advice above, I wondered whether you planted them yourself or whether a professional did it for you (as is often the case with these pleached trees). If you paid someone to do the job they should have advised you if the planting site needed improvement before the planted them. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • paul.sharon.reece.t21paul.sharon.reece.t21 Posts: 3
    Dovefromabove said:
    Further to @GardenerSuze ‘s advice above, I wondered whether you planted them yourself or whether a professional did it for you (as is often the case with these pleached trees). If you paid someone to do the job they should have advised you if the planting site needed improvement before the planted them. 
    Hi, I planted them myself and was happy with the results up until when they seemingly started to die. My next door neighbour has them too and hers are thickening up really well. Hers were planted in winter and I watched the lads doing it - no soil improvement and a hole barely big enough to house the rootball. The problem I think I have is the garden drops down by 2 to 3 feet and the trees are at the lowest point. All rain onto the lawn drains to the trees and because my neighbour over the back has paved everything, and as the water table is only about 3 1/2 foot deep, accumulated rain water doesn’t drain away. Can you suggest any plants that I could put around the trees that efficiently suck up sodden soil? 
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @paul.sharon.reece.t21 Often the only way with this sort of problem is to resolve the water table issues.
    You need planning permission to pave a front garden. However you can pave a back garden with out. I have mentioned this before planning should be needed for back gardens too. It is environmentally wrong to pave everything and needs to stop. Your neighbours have passed the problem your way probably without realising.
    Land drains are one solution I believe but not something I have any knowledge of or understand.

    I hope other posters may be able to offer their thoughts.Suze
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
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