What did the roots look like, how did you plant them and how were they watered?

tj

did the lawn guy apply weed treatment to it??

how do the buds look??

where are you.... how bad was winter ...big city name

is the bottom branh .. at the trunk.. on the ground.. it might be planted too deep ..

located near Grand rapids, Michigan. Winter was to bad. Peat pot was planted with top 1” of the pot left above soil line (instructed to do that by landscaper I know). Mulched around the base of trees. Watering can used to water them. No weed treatment.

Peat pots are not good left on. They likely wicked water away from the roots and prevented water from getting to the roots. They also prevented you from spreading the roots out at planting.

tj

Not sure if there are different kind of peat pots or not. Was told mine were plantable peat pots. Only half the trees aren’t doing well. My Father and 2 brothers all had the same trees and we planted them all together and theirs are all doing well (baring other issues like deer damage, trauma to the tree...)

Planting with the peat pots sticking up out of the ground assured that these were able to cause the trees to dry out.

It’s not the first time I’ve done this and never had this issue in the past. I have 30 trees planted and 10 are doing this. All the others look great, all planted the same way.

Doesn't mean the 10 didn't have their pots produce different effects. Have you checked? Might as well dig them up and investigate, see what you can find out because they look like they are pretty much a loss anyway.

Leaving the peat pot sticking out is very odd advice. I can’t think why any gardener would say that. Are you certain they said above and not below? The exposed part dries out and wicks water away from the buried part. Although sold as being plantable, and theoretically they are, in practice they often cause trouble. It’s best to tear off the top and bottom. Have you dug down to investigate what’s going on under the surface?

I haven’t dug down. I’m curious why only some and not all are doing that if the pot should have been heroes completely underground.

they should have been completely removed from the peat pot.. and planted at proper depth according to you tree and its root mass.. aka the root flare ...

who put them in the peat pots.. and how do you know they planted the root flare properly in the pot ... since you didnt take any out of the pots ...

if you landscaper likes his methods .. and stands by it.. have him replace the plants for you

ken

The standard advice is to be sure that the peat pot is NOT sticking up above the soil line.

If you dig down next to a thriving one and a browning one you may find your answer. We can only make suggestions from what we can see in the pictures.

If the peat pot didn't decompose as advertised...what are your roots doing?
I would remove all on any replacement trees to check on the roots at planting time anyway.
Once your in the field ready to put the tree in the ground I can't think of any benefit to leaving them on unless there's already lots and lots of roots poking through...
While also keeping in mind other factors outside of the pots may have compounded the trouble.
Hopefully you check back in and let us know what your finding...

I had an arborist come by and look at them as well as my landscaper. They both think it looks like windburn from the winter. We did dig up one of them in the roots are all in good condition.

Cool....Do they think their gonna pull through? Buds swelling ?
or need to be replaced ?

Unsure. Fertilize and wait.

I would not fertilize any tree that is under stress, ever!

Young seedlings tend to winter burn more easily than a tree with a strong, established root system..

Judging that the needles aren't completely brown, there's a good chance that the stems/branches and dormant buds are still green inside. Which means they still have the ability to swell and push new growth.

Even if the main leader is dead and new growth comes out lower than the top, the tree will re-leader from that point.

Later on, by the end of season, you can cut the dead parts off and in a couple of years, you won't hardly know anything went wrong.

If nothing happens by mid summer, you will want to replace those that fail but wait until early Fall, temps and moisture generally are more favorable by then.

You may want to place a sun/wind shade around the new trees for next winter, jic.

Great!

Thanks 4 the update.🙂

Good to see things are working out!