What was your watering regimen like for the plants?
You being away on business and all.

i have a drip system installed. i watered once a week.

How big are these trees? I might be tempted to check a few out, if they're small enough...and all. Otherwise, make sure they're watered properly inside the rootball.

tj

Watering, or possibly drainage issues, are probably to blame for the trees dying, but it sounds like that may not be the only issue. I don't really know what "braking the rootball" means, but it sounds like that maybe Brankulo is trying to say that the trees were potbound and that the issue wasn't addressed at planting. A clarification about this might lead to further advice. BTW, a planting guide is linked below that might answer some of the questions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Planting a Tree or Shrub

brandon, i guess pot bound is the right term. rest of the trees are about 4' tall. they also have few dry spots at the bottom but i gess it is normal as it is very minimal. i have a drip emiter by base of each trunk and water it 10 minutes once a week. not sure what you mean by drainage issue.
thanks again.

Ok the plot thickens!

Drip emitters need to be run for HOURS, not minutes. They put out very small amounts of water. 10 minutes of drip per week and spring planting = your plants are dying due to lack of water.

ok problem solved. i will set it up for much longer next season. but why just 3 of them. shouldnt all of them die?

Well, whether or not it is a watering issue at all is going to depend on how much rain the trees got. Here, you can often get away with no watering of any but the newest plantings. (in other words, irrigation around here is often just a waste of $$$)

we didnt have much rain in here during summer, i should probably say none. we had couple of good rains though in spring, after the trees were planted. well hopefully they do well in next season

I like drip irrigation but it's better for smaller plants and once they are established, IMO. For new transplants I use about 20 gallons of water each time the trees are watered. You can use something like a hose at a slow trickle, some use soaker hoses. Personally I like treegators or similar. It's a predictable amount of water and it saves time. Stick your finger in the soilball at various points and make sure it's moist. If not, water it.

i just check my drip emitter packaging for ones that i used at thujas. it says that emiter has 1gpm rate. so that would mean i was giving those trees 10 gallons a week when i was watering 10 minutes. is that not enough?

do i need to fertilize trees at all?

Watering on a schedule means nothing unless you check the results. Go down a few inches inside the rootball and you tell us if it was enough.

tj

PS See other link for fert talk.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fert or No

Brankulo,

I guess the decision about whether to dig up the other trees and check their rootball should at least somewhat depend on how potbound you think they were. If the ones you dug up looked like there were a lot of roots on the rootball surface (against where the pot had been) or roots growing around the rootball (future girdling roots), I would suggest digging the others up and trying to correct the problem. If you don't, you will probably be dealing with the problem in a few years, when it will be a much bigger job.

I may have missed where you mentioned the size but 10 gallons per week is not nearly enough for new transplants (and no rain). Like I said, I would apply 20 gallons each time I watered a new transplant assuming they are like 7' or so evergreens.

I would not fertlize then again I don't plant trees that need fertilizer. I strongly advise against using retail store offerings for fertilizer.

Drip emitters at 1gpm?!?!? That is no drip emitter, that is a 1/2 in hose at half pressure. Bubbler maybe.

Nonetheless, surely sounds like not enough attention was paid to new planting. No fertilizer.

Dan

As has been said, but ignored by some, many times in this forum, the amount of water depends on various factors like soil type. Around here, 10 gallons of water per week would definitely be plenty for new transplants. Somewhere else with more sandy soil, even 20 gallons might not be enough. As the information in my link suggest (and tsugajunkie also mentioned) the moisture level both around and inside the rootball should be examined to determine how much water is needed and how frequently it should be applied. Giving an amount without being thoroughly familiar with conditions at the site is of no value, at best.

Unless there is some indication that fertilizer is needed, I would avoid that complication.

1 gpm can't be right.
I saw that before but assumed it was a typo.

my mistake, it is 1gph, so i was definitely not giving them enough water. i checked the soil around the trees and it is pretty moist. of course that is now that my sprinklers are blown an i just hose each tree by hand. also i tried to pull one of the thujas that seem to be doing fine, to check the roots, but i couldnt pull it from the ground easily like the other three, so i left it. i guess that means that it rooted well.

When all else fails, use your finger.