Why will my Spartan juniper not take?

5 years ago

Hey Guys,

Last year I planted 9 Spartan Junipers in my backyard. I did my best to plant them on a mound, however, it was a bit tricky with the slanted ground I planted them in. Watered 2-3 times a week for the first few months, and after that just kept my eye on the moisture in the soil surrounding the base of the trees.

Anyways, this year I had to replant one tree as it didn’t take. You can see in the photos the replant is already dead. The needles are hard to the touch and there is little flexibility in the branches, which is all too familiar with the prior tree I planted there.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why this one tree will not take. 8 trees have had no issue, but this one particular spot just isn’t having it. I’m hoping 3rd time will be the charm, because this singular tree is driving me crazy. Any advice would be extremely appreciated.

Thanks!

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Comments (3)

laceyvail 6A, WV
5 years ago
This type of thing is always a problem in a monoculture. What if one of the trees was to die 10 years down the road? I'm never of fan of this type of planting.

I would have made a very deep bed of mixed conifers, broadleaf evergreens if possible, and deciduous large shrubs/small trees.
UpperBayGardener (zone 7)
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I sorta agree w/laceyvail...OTOH...Americans in many cases can barely manage taking care of a linear strip of a fastigiate monoculture planting, aka a hedge. I can't tell you how many already hideous rows of leyland cypress in Harford and Cecil counties are now being invaded by Celastrus orbiculatus. A much deeper hedgerow/bed/woodlot/whatever of mixed species is EVEN MORE LIKELY in a decade or so, to became a disaster zone of invasives and vines. It takes a LOT of work to keep something like that maintained*. In surburban Melbourne, AU, it was amazing how many spotlessly clean hedges I saw, particularly of BLEs like Pittosporum and Syzygium. It's a culture where people know they have to do the time to maintain their garden. So maybe it's better people in the US just stick to "2D" large scale plantings! (or really, "one dimension" LOL)

* no doubt precisely because most dunderheaded idiots refuse to thoughtfully take care of their properties. If I wasn't surrounded by neighbors who have invasive crap like: sycamore maples, bradford pears, "Rose of Trailer Trash Sharon" as I call her, lawns of Microstegium and Digitaria, and yes...the borg-vine Celastrus that they now let snake through everything(!) I would spend at least 40% less time dealing with weeds, because I'd only need to fight the weeds that are just in the 'background [weed] radiation', not what is being seeded into my yard by lazy and ignorant suburbanites.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
do see plastic in the first pic.. extreme right bottom ... remove all plastic asap ...

see link.. section one... when to plant... and all the rest ...no replanting until fall at the earliest ... that doesnt mean you cant buy the plant.. just hold it over until proper planting time ...

and i often wondered.. why is it never one on the end ... its always a middle one.. lol ..

is that a bike type path .. otherwise the further view looks pretty nice .. whats the reason for the sight block ..

agree 100% with the monoculture comments ...

your lawn looks perfectly weed free ... is there anyway we can be sure weed spray drift isnt an issue .. as in.. its DIY drop applied ..???

lawn irrigation is not proper watering.. especially if there is plastic around every tree ...

and finally ... it always helps if you tell us where you are .. big city name ... in case location is a variable ... bigbox is famous for selling stuff that might not work locally ....

wait.. one more thing... these are rather aggressive growers.. how bad were the winding roots in the pots ... and what did you do about that ...

ken

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