Did you plant them during the winter or waited until spring? Bare root or potted?

where are you ...

please tell me they are NOT indoors ...

need a list of the plants to figure out if they were grafted ..

and pix to figure out where they were grafted .. and where sprouts are coming from ...

be nice to know how you planted them ...

did you not have a warranty ... if so.. what are the sellers telling you

what do you mean by saline water???

ken

I'm in SoCal 5mi. N. of Disneyl. I have a wx station and the only difference from the nearby Fullerton Airport is that I record low tmps that average 3-6 degrees colder. Still mild. All but one still in pots that I put them in after arrival. Our H2O here is rather alkaline (7-8) and saline (460ppm). Soil is about 7.5 ph and only trace of salinity. With H2O being so saline, I'm surprised it doesn't cause higher soil salinity, but it doesn't.

The one planted in yard is an Acer Truncatum (Main Street). Planted in a hole 30" wide and approx. 15'' deep. Filled with native soil & 25% peat moss. The only thing I question, is the fact that since we are in a drought, we can only water 1x weekly. We've only had a few inches of rain since planting and I have only watered it by had a couple of Xs. The bottom half is dense and very lush, however.

Thank you so much. I'll continue with more info on the other trees that are in pots later.

No backfilling with non native soil.

Sorry about your watering restrictions. It is foreign to me. I'd say its best not to fight nature. Check out the desert botanical gardens in Phoenix if salt isn't an issue.

All things being equal I bet a location with less than 25 inches of rain per year is going to be a challenge for japanese maples.

Hey I lived in Kirksville, MO for 6 yrs. MO is a beautiful state and I miss it.

I don't live in the desert, and the trees that I at least ordered were one's that were tolerant of salts. Again, at this point I am only somewhat confident that one is the variety I did order.

The maple's that are potted are only watered with purified H2O.

Were these Acer palmatums?

No. Truncatum, Rubrum & Saccharum.

Acers tend to dislike the hot, dry, Southern CA climate. I've grown A. rubrum and A. saccharum in CA, but in a Sunset Zone 7 location. Do you own a Sunset Gardening Book? If not, please seriously consider purchasing the book, as it is worth the cover price many times over.

You live in Sunset zone 22, from your description. Acer rubrum is listed for Zones A2, A3; 1-9, 14-17. A. saccharum is listed for Zones 1-10, 14-20. Only A. truncatum is listed for your zone; A2, A3; 1-9, 14-23. However, if it is one of the hybrids with A. platanoides, it is not (A2, A3; 1-9, 14-17).

Why did you choose these particular trees? There are many beautiful trees that are much better adapted to this climate.

I'd tend to fall in line with what gyr is saying.......this is just me, but if I was going to garden and plant trees in S. California, I strongly doubt it would be the same species I'm accustomed to working with here in Wisconsin. Same way with Florida-I'm always reading about how some new transplant (person, not a plant, lol) to that state simply must have their lilacs, their daffodils, or fill in the blanks with completely inappropriate species for that region. I guess I don't understand that. Why would you go through the trouble of setting up shop in a new region of the country, then insist on trying to make it like where you came from?

That's just me though. I was talking to a work mate who goes out to Cali every winter. I once asked him what the street trees were in that area. His reply? Norway maples! What the hell!? Not the invasive species aspect-just the boring aspect of planting the exact same dumb thing as everywhere else does. At this point, I'm sure it appears I'm scolding you, Pecci, and that's not really my intent. All I am saying is, there have got to be better options.

You've gotten Sugar Maple, A. saccharum, to grow in Cali, gyr_falcon?

This is not going to help with the current situation, but I'd have to wonder at the need for using mail order at all. California is the largest producer of horticultural product in the country - what is grown there supplies most of the rest of the US with landscape plants. Why not just select from what has to be a significantly large array of more site-appropriate species rather than importing in something that may or may not be suited to the soils, the climate and the irrigation water? Selecting landscape stock locally also negates any shipping charges and allows one to purchase larger specimens as well.

Yes hairmetal4ever, but we were growing them in an area near the mountains where there is chill in the winter, and typically, even a few light snows. Not quite enough chill hours for common peonies to bloom, but enough to get nice autumn color with many trees and heavy flowering with Malus and Prunus.

L.A. County Arboretum had a trip earlier to Baldwin Ranch to see 100+ year old trees. That would be a good way to learn about suitable trees for that area and not reinvent the wheel. I know that there is a serious drought there now. I would familiarize myself with "xeriscaping"

"Never Again" is right, next time don't get cheap, wild-collected rubbish from Tennessee especially when you can get anything you want in your own state.

Lot's of comments. Thanks to all of you.

Except for 'Brandiwine' Acer Rubrum, the other specific trees I purchased are said to do well in mild winter areas. They are also advertised as being tolerant of alkaline and salinity. I planted an Acer Truncatum/Platanoides for my mother about 12 yr's ago and it is doing beautifully. The leaves do not start burning until they start to color in the Fall. In fact in the Sunset Book, my zone 22 is stated to be w/I the range for 'Truncatum'.

In any case, I would have expected all of these trees to at least start off (leafing-out) during this Spring, regardless if they are not rated for my zone. Again, I know for fact that at least 2 of them are not what I ordered. That leads me to question if the other's aren't also.

Late to party, but from description upthread sounds like they dried out because too dry. Also peat won't help.

You are exactly right, Pecci, when you say that you would have expected leaf-out, regardless the ultimate suitability of these trees for this locale. So indeed, something happened to them prior to your handling. I'd look at my warranty.