in my glacial sand ... it will drain out in minutes .... not hours ..

did you plant high as the link suggested????

the trouble with bad clay ... and i dont know if yours is ... is that the shovel can create what is basically a sided clay pot .... which holds too much water.. for too long ....

did you do a perk test.. what were the results???

ken

You may be right, my clay wasn't as bad as I had imagined. I dumped a half Home Depot bucket of water in the hole & noticed it sunk into the ground in a matter of minutes.

I planted it with about 1-2 inches of the root ball above ground & mulched a ring about 2-3 inches away from root.

I roughed up the sides a bit but maybe have to revisit it as the guidelines seem to make it sound like I would want a bowl which intuitively meant smooth. Ugh!

pbx, I think you'll be golden. It does not sound like this is a particularly slow-draining site. I would like to offer just one caveat about your planting: First, good that you planted the tree with ball 1/2 inch above grade. That shows that you have the basic idea. Now here is the complicating factor: Imagine this plant in the nursery row where it came from. Periodically, a tractor-drawn cultivator of some kind was very likely run down those rows between the rows of trees, to help control weeds. In the process, soil gets heaped up around the base of the plants in those rows. Later, when the plant is balled/burlapped, what was actually a buried root ball is handled as though it is the original grade. But it's not, because of that soil being heaped up. So even though you did what you did for the right reasons, the plant could still be buried too deeply.

What we like to do is look for the root flare, that swollen area where trunk and root system meet. If you plant such that that rootflare is still visible, just above grade, you will be perfect. None of which is to say you didn't get to this point by serendipity-you may have. But for future reference, it's the root flare that should be at or just above grade, not the top of the ball. We've received B&B stock in which we had to dig literally 15 inches down from the top of the ball just to locate this root flare. That was on larger deciduous stock, and I doubt your GG would be that extreme. But it's something to be aware of.

What's that you say-this tree came in a pot? Oh well, that's a different discussion!

+oM

@wisconsitom - now I want to go out & pull up my GG a few more inches! I am not too late right? It's only been 4 days since this Past Sunday albeit it has been cold since Monday.

in this type of situation.. you have years to fix the problem.. not hours ...

just replant it ...

we will get you there.. have faith ... but dont wait years.. lol ....

ken

Thank you both. I know it's going to be cold this weekend here sub zero, so I'll let the little fella be in the ground a bit longer until middle next week when we'll get some mid 50's.

But it's good to know there is years vs. hours to fix a potential problems & get it right.

the key for you ... is doing it all 6 to 8 weeks before the heat of summer hits ... so the roots have time to acclimate ... and get to pumping water ....

when you are dealing with a fully dormant plant... in the dormant season .. you have a lot of potential to win ...

as compared to doing it in july and august.. and losing ...

reread the bible... and get it right ... and by july and august... you ought to be all set ...

about now.. you will know.. why i would prefer screwing around with a 3 foot plant.. rather than a big one ... we grow old.. lol

ken

Thuyas are one of those trees that can root from the trunk and don't mind as much as most other trees by being buried with what would normally be called 'too deep'. They are found naturally growing here on flood plains.
Mike

Good advice on planting. I put in an order this winter for some conifers (4) and have to transplant 2 purchased late last year (put into temporary spots) I'll use this advise and any others I find here.

Thanks, Beverly (hosta forum)