Any chance you could post a pic or two? My concern is when you say 'I made sure to make a deep hole in the middle like the instructions say' - did you bury them well above the root flare? Pics will help anyone who wants to help you. :)

oh my

trees dont like 'good' potting soil ...

you are providing way to much water.. and the good potting soil is probably holding too much water ... good chance you are rotting off the roots ...

also... trees need very little fertilizer.. let alone every watering.. let alone in media that doesnt drain well ...

then you potted them .. but i dont know if you put the pots outdoors.. or if you are still growing them as houseplants ...

then i wonder as the ghost mentions.. whether you planted them properly .... depth-wise ...

on top of all this... pines.. though forgiving.. really shouldnt be given away in July.. in plastic bags.. at fairs ... that is a lot of problems.. before you ever got your hands on them ...

and then .. on top of this all ... you have tied in emotional issues ...

listen ... how about you peruse the link below.. and pick mom out some very nice SPECIMEN CULTIVARS ... for PROPER planting.. in mother earth.. at the PROPER time.. which is sept/oct .... [though i dont know where you are] ....

lets get these memories.. attached to some healthy.. well planted ... and good stock ....

BTW .. pines are conifers.. and if you really want to learn.. and be enabled.. check out that forum ....

ken

copy/paste this for planting guide:

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinus Densiflora 'Burke's Red Variegated' is to die for.. though a bit of an investment .....

Ross - can I just say I'm sorry about your Dad and Granddad? I hope you and your Mum get pleasure and some comfort from learning about growing things. It's helped me through some tough times. All the best from across the pond.

Thanks all for the responses! Much appreciated. @ghost. I took some pics for you. @Ken, you make very good points. So that's a no on good potting soil? What should i use instead. @florauk Thank you! We do, we've started a really nice garden outside and it really does help. Also, i live in Sac, CA.

These pics were taken in the morning and when i got home i took the pot inside for more pics. The one with the car in the picture is the second tree. I didn't get a whole lot of that one. p.s Looks like i can only upload one image per post... i don't want to spam so i'll just post a few. But if you can see, from the bottom of the tree it looks like it's starting to go brown.

This post was edited by Ross91 on Sun, Aug 25, 13 at 2:58

Tree #2. This one looks like it's more close to death.

From inside.