worried about my Japonica PierisMountain Fire

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richiekess Maplewood, NJ Jun 13, 2007

I bought a Mountain Fire about a month ago. Against my better judgment the guy who does our lawn planted it it. It had been in a container. We have soil that is fairly clay and acidic, about about 5 ph. I had asked that he amend the soil with a bag of Scott's Soil for Trees and Shrubs, but he didn't do it. At any rate, I have been watering it, and mulched it with pine mulch, but a fair amout of the leaves are drooping and look like they're dieing off. Could it just be transplant shock? Should I pull the Mountain Fire up and amend the soil? Any advice would be really appreciated. THANK YOU!!!

This message was edited Jun 20, 2007 1:25 PM

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Equilibrium Jun 13, 2007

Photos are always a real big help.

There was a recent thread on a similar situation. You might find something that would help here-
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/719978/

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jun 14, 2007

I agree, pictures would really help. My guess is transplant shock, if your weather is getting warm it can be stressful to plant things. As far as pulling it up and amending--I'm personally a big believer in planting trees and shrubs directly in your native soil, in order for them to be successful long-term their roots need to go out into the native soil eventually, and having an amended planting hole, particularly if you have clay soil can create a "bathtub" effect when you water, and also the roots will tend to wrap around inside the planting hole so they can stay in the nice loose amended soil rather than going out into the clay, then you basically end up with a rootbound plant in your garden. So I like to shake off as much of the container soil as I can and plant directly in the clay. The plant may not be quite as happy in the short term, but long term it's better.

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Decumbent Cincinnati, OH(Zone 6b) Jun 15, 2007

If you have acidic clay that is not too wet, it should be great for Pieris without being amended. Being too damp or being planted too deeply are common reapers of Pieris.

Scott

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richiekess Maplewood, NJ Jun 19, 2007

Hi Everybody. I am attaching a picture of my Mountain Fire. It looks like part of it is doing well, and other parts are dying.

The soil is acidic and clay. The drainage issue I have to watch. Any additional advice would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Thumbnail by richiekess
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