why does it need water everyday ... and how is the water applied.. i hope not with lawn sprinklers ...

conifers do not prefer their needles to be wet all the time ...it would be interesting to know if the height of the problem is consistent with the sprayers??? if any...

will await pix.. ken

i do not use sprinklers. i went the tree from top down to cool off. i read frasiers use gallone of water a day, and its bone dry here. i usually deep soak to get the gigantic rootball wet

tri cities, yes. it was. we thought we'd repurpose, and being enterprising id kill two birds with same stone and create landscaping interest. worst case ill dig it out and replant something else.

When I was working I spent time in Johnson City, don't remember seeing frasers though. Although the climate isn't perfect, it's much better than mine for frasers. You're quite a bit cooler on average than I am, you have a more montane climate, even though our elevations are similar.

I believe your problem is that your tree was a Xmas tree. It can be a nightmare to properly care for a conifer that is meant to be cold and dormant in winter and is brought indoors to endure heat and dry air. And firs are BAD, I've done it with white pine successfully though. In the past live trees were available here, but no more. I guess too many complaints about dead trees.

As far as your tree, keep the rootball moist, not wet. That's about all you can do. If foliage discoloration started when hot weather hit, that doesn't bode well.Good luck.

heres the deal. i read up on all that. didnt want to shock the tree. we kept it outdoors all winter long, was really pretty. had a gigantic bucket from Tractor Supply, plenty of water. and even planted in early april. at this pt im resigned to keep watering but not going to kill the water bill. if it happens, it happens. there are other evergreen varietes, that are much hardier

thank you btw for your help.

i read frasiers use gallon of water a day, and its bone dry here.

==>>> how much water a plant needs is dependent on YOUR SOIL ... it really doesnt matter what you read .. because whoever opined that.. does not have your soil ...

crawl under there with a hand trowel .. AND FIND OUT if the rootball ... and the surrounding soil;. is wet or dry ... then adjust water accordingly ...

the browning is easily transplant.. transport .. etc stress ... not to mention possibly improper watering ... lets perfect the water .. and go from there ...

it is not hungry.. fert is not a consideration ...

what ken said about the viability of the species in TN ... i have no clue on that part ...

ken

RED

CLAY.

i did take extra precaution and amended the soil with organic peat, dirt from my pine trees, and top soil. ill get in there and look at the roots

need to look at the soil.. near the roots.. not the roots themselves ..

see link for planting and watering issues.. as well as clay ... just in case you decide to plant more ...

color of the clay doesnt matter ... have you ever perked your soil? ... see second link ... drainage is imperative to trees.. conifers.. just about everything but bog plants ...

ken

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

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https://www.google.com/search?q=perking+yo0ur+soil.&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=soil+percolation+test

A. fraseri does very well in our sharply drained, sandy soils. Surprisingly drought tolerant and much easier to grow than I would've expected. Slow to cone, but that's about the only criticism I can think of.

Amending of planting hole back-fill in damp clay soils can result in the plant sitting in a puddle.

it sits on a hill, and rock beneath. it drains well.

Novice

You said you kept it outside all winter in a gigantic bucket. So it wasn't indoors for Xmas? Even if it was out all winter, did the container it was in have drainage holes? If not, it may have become water logged from the winter rains. That would probably lead to root damage if not death. Not good...

Maackia

Fraser is native to the high elevations of E TN and W NC, where it covers the mountain tops along with red spruce, and up through the VA's until it becomes balsam in the NE and N New England. That area in TN/NC is probably zone 6a, granite derived soils, and the highest rainfall in TN, 70-80 inches per year, lots of fog. It really HATES being taken out of its native habitat here in the south. It makes a premier Xmas tree, and lots of people would like to grow it in the flatlands. Those are primo frasers in your pix, are they yours?

it was burlap wrapped. i read to leave it in water. it had soil around it all winter long. no, those are the other posters. this pic was taken in early spring planting time.

this is my frasier, we're pretty close to WNC and the Xmas tree farms. prob 20-30 min away from Roan Mtn. when i planted it i envisioned those Frasier's ive seen while hiking on Mt Mitchell or while living in Asheville. That's the look i want im backyard. I wouldve used a different tree but figured spending the money on Xmas tree would cut costs. plus we can re purpose and let the kiddos string white lights.

Kentrees, we have several Fraser Firs here of varying size. They were planted about ten years ago by My spouse. They were purchased through a program from the state nursery. I can take no credit for these trees, but I sure do enjoy them. They've experienced some dry conditions in their short life, but seem to handle it with ease. They are protected by surrounding trees.

They were purchased through a program from the state nursery.

==>>> so those were babes at planting? ... compared to this huge field dug plant ... that alone can make or break a planting ...

ken

I have one that grew from a cone seed some years ago. It's in sandy loam with a bit of woodland soil. A couple of decades ago, I got a "deal" for use as a sound berm. Unfortunately the 4 - 5 ft. tall trees had become root bound and likely girdled in their large poly pots. The tree farm fellow who planted these likely knew this. They did so so for a while, but did develop *red spider mites*. That cleared up after a while, but when the trees were about 14 ft. tall, they all toppled like dominoes in a storm with high winds. I decided after I chopped them up to use that area for something else.

1. Be sure the tree's roots are not girdling it

2. Check for red spider mites. Place a sheet of white paper beneath the discolored needles on the tree. Flick the branch with your finger to flick off any mites onto the white paper. You will probably want a 10x hand lens. Sometimes you can smear the red brown dust, and it will streak (from the living mites being crushed.)

3. is that bark mulch clear of the trunk and not above the root flare? (Don't mulch volcano style above the root flare).

4.) IIRC from reading way back, I believe that hot dry air will stress these firs.

Best of luck.

it has to be. ive babied it. ive transplanted lots of evergreens. like i said, it was an opportunity to have a cool yard evergreen to reuse. in lieu of spending nursery money i wanted to cut corners. shouldve gone with a different evergreen. hopefully we can make it to year two. we'll see.

makes sense on the sandy soil as thats whats theyre potted in and what abounds on the balds of WNC.

Good luck, but at the end of the day, if there's a favorable, attractive native plant, easy to produce for nurseries and easy to grow in the correct climate as maackia points out...that you're not seeing in your area, there's probably a reason why you're not seeing it. If we're wrong, post some pictures of the mature ones you see around town.

will do

theres a coupla banks that use them, and, a person ive seen successfully planting them (assuming after each Xmas) along their fenceline. ill try to remember to snap a shot