Any pix? How big is it, how was it planted, how are you watering it and where are you?

tj

It's 5 feet. A landscaper planted it. I'm in Brooklyn NY. I have been deep watering it. I think. When I place the hose next to the trunk and put it on slow, it puddles a bit.

You need to dig into the rootball 4-6 inches deep and feel to see if it is hydrated. The puddling means nothing. How long is the hose left on?

tj

It's been on since 8 am EST. It's now 10:06 am. Won't digging into the root ball that deep damage the tree? Do I start digging as close to the trunk as I can get?

If you water that much every three days you may be drowning it. Dig about 6 inches from the trunk, small hole just to get your fingers in there to feel. It won’t hurt anything. If moist, don’t water again until it feels dry.

tj

The details on how to go about this were outlined very carefully on your previous post on this topic: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6273631/emerald-green-arborvitae. Did you read them and follow those instructions?

How much longer should I deep water? It's been two hours. Should I wait for an hour before I start digging to give the water a chance to settle before I check the rootball?

Ok TJ. 

I have stopped deep watering. I'll wait a bit for the water to settle and then dig 4 to 6 inches.

I will update this post to let you know what happened.

UPDATE: I digged down 4 to 6 inches. It was moist to the touch. Not muddy. I don't believe I felt dry soil. It wasn't real wet to the touch like water on my finger. Also I am no landscaper. The arborvitaes didn't come in a pot. They were I guess bare root wrapped in burlap. When I was digging, the burlap was still there. I assume he planted them and left the burlap on. Is this how it is supposed to be?

No, the burlap should have been removed. Now make sure it is at least pulled away from the trunk.

tj

UPDATE: No, the burlap is not pulled away from the trunk. It looks like it was dropped into the ground. Is this a deal breaker? If I approach the landscaper about this, he's going to say. "I've been doing this for 40 years, etc..." How should I approach him? Or should I bother?

Not a deal breaker....but not good either. All wrappings should be removed from around rootballs when planting. Untreated burlap will decompose fairly rapidly. Treated burlap will also decompose - eventually. But it can take much longer and could serve to delay root development and establishment.

Scrape away the soil and manually remove any burlap covering the top of the rootball. Any burlap that appears above the soil level has the ability to wick soil moisture away from the roots and that can deprive the tree of necessary water.

UPDATE: ok, I'll cut away to top ofvthe burlap. I have also attached a picture of the hole I digged down 4 to 6 inches. Should I leave uncovered so I can check the soil moisture when I deep water? When I deep water, won't the water do down into the hole?  It seems like the water going down in the hole will moisture it too much. What do you think? By the way, thank you for your help.

Another thing, if I leave the hole open won't the air or heat from the sun dry up the soil?

You can cover the hole.

tj

I hate to bother you again but I'm new to this. I'm probably getting into too much detail. I promise this is my last post.  How will I know when to deep water again? Do I dig another hole to check the moisture first? Will I have to cover the hole and dig another hole to check for moisture again everytime between deep watering?

You water when it feels dry. Cover and reuse the same hole.

tj