Catalpa Tree Transplanting

Today I transplanted a Catalpa Tree seedling. It is drooping very bad and was wondering if this is the case for the Transplanting of the tree. I will get a picture of it later and let everyone see how it is doing. I also planted a Holly Tree that is about 6 foot already. So far it is doing very well. Has anyone ever transplanted a large holly like this. I have no trees on my property and trying to get some growing. I also planted about 8 Cedar Seedling in pots and trying to get them started. My ground is very hard. It is gray clay and hard to dig a hole for anything. It took me all day today just to dig two holes. Need to find out about how I can get my ground softened up for planting. It is really a chore to dig anywhere.

Sami

It's probably transplant shock. The middle of summer isn't really the best time to transplant things, the sun and heat will put extra stress on the plant and transplanting can be stressful anyway, especially if it was planted somewhere else and you dug it up and lost some of its roots in the process. I would make sure you keep it watered (but be careful not to overwater--don't automatically water if it's wilting, check with your finger a few inches down in the soil to see if it's drying out or not), if it is still wilting badly you may want to try and rig up some shade over it to protect it a bit from the heat of the sun until it gets established a little better.

Working in clay soil is hard, hard work. Congratulations on getting the job of planting done! Trees will pay you back for your efforts. Ammending clay requires the addition of copious amounts of coarse organic material. Chopped leaves, grass clippings, whatever you can collect (as long as it wasn't diseased or hasn't been treated with herbicides). Don't add fine sand. That will only make things worse. Peat is also a good soil conditioner. Have you considered a Ph test and a drainage test? Two good things to know that can help avoid disappointments later. When you dug did you by chance fill the hole with water and see how long it took to drain? For Ph there are garden test kits available for a few bucks or better yet, contact you local agricultural extension agent. They often do these tests for free or a very modest cost and they are excellent for Ph and nutrient content. There will be no guessing what your soil needs, or doesn't need. That can save you a ton of money and trouble for as long as you live there. Again, congratulations!

For trees and shrubs, when you have clay I would not advise amending the soil unless you're going to do a really large area, just amending the planting hole is worse than not amending at all. I know there are different schools of thought on this, but skipping the amendments has been best in my experience. If all you do is amend the planting hole, you are basically creating a clay bathtub for your tree which makes it much easier to overwater. Plus, trees and shrubs put out deep roots, so in order to establish themselves successfully the roots need to go out into the clay soil eventually, but if you give them a nice comfy amended planting hole, the roots aren't going to want to go out into the clay, so they can end up circling round and round, effectively creating a potbound plant even though it's planted in the ground.

Ecrane3 is right, in my opinion. Just getting that clay loose will help greatly as it is. Remember that loose soil, compared to undug soil will increase in volume. You should ultimately be planting on a mound because in the coming year or so, things will settle back close to the original density. Overwatering in clay is a very important concept. If you temporarily create mush, that's a very bad thing. If this happens, you'll be temped to play with the consistency (every kid loves to make mudpies). But don't even touch it! Every time you do, you destroy the soil structure that allows air spaces in the soil. Air spaces are absolutely necessary for root health. Closing these spaces by working with wet soil, or overwatering, does not allow roots to function as they should, and water (and nutrient) uptake is hindered.

My ground is very hard. It is gray clay and hard to dig a hole for anything. It took me all day today just to dig two holes.

Have you invested in a pick axe? Use it to loosen the clay, and then remove the soil with a shovel.

Two schools of thought I guess. I can certainly see where doing a very large area would be a huge undertaking.

http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=88

www.mortonarboretumphc.org/.../Plant%20Care%20and%20Management/Clay%20article%20Issue%204%20%205.12.06.pdf - Similar pages

If you decide that amending might be practical in some areas these links to P. Allen Smith and the soil horticulturist at the Morton Arboretum have some good tips.

Snapple's first link I definitely agree with. It talks about amending a whole bed, as for vegetables or flowers. Trees, who's roots will extend far beyond the amended area are are a different story, in my opinion. It is a myth that tree roots are confined within the dripline (the ground under the branches. It is not uncommon for tree roots to extend two to two and a half times the height of the tree. Roots are opportunists, and will grow where the water and nutrients are. That might be half the height of the tree on ones side of the tree, and twice the height of the tree on the opposite side.

I can't get the second link to work.

Thanks everyone.

I didn't have much choice as to amending a large area. We I got to work last week my friend had already dug up the Catalpa tree and the holly tree. I go to work on Sunday evening and don't get back until Friday morning so I had to get them in the ground really quick so could not amend a large area at a time but just enough space to put the trees in. I put in some good soil and some fertilizer and some peat in the hole. I know when it rains really hard for a long period of time the whole yard can get flooded but it goes down really quick.

I think I have decided to get a tiller and start in sections and start amended the soil. We have 2 acres here so I think that would be a good investment. I had some good top soil delived and have been using that. I have been raising the beds too. What I have got planted so far has done really well this year.

Has any one heard of Clay buster? A Customer mentioned it at the nursery today. But the nursery didn't have it.

Well thanks again I will take your advise and start amending sections at a time. until I get it all done.


Sami

I hope you transplanted your Catalpa to a site that is well away from any areas you want to keep neat and tidy. They are messy buggers! And are fast growers (slow down as they age) with brittle wood and are short lived.

I couldn't get my Morton Arboretum link to work either. Gosh darn it, it was a good one too. This one isn't as detailed in their handling of clay soil and tree transplantation but it does give a good over view.

http://www.mortonarb.org/res/CLINIC_hort_transplanting.pdf

I tested the link and it works.

thanks everyone for the info. I havent had a chance yet to take a picture since work out of town and dont get to go home but on Friday morning and then have my grandson. I just wish I had more time to be on daves garden too but I get on when I can. I am at work now and my client that I take care of lets me get on the computer to check things out for him. The Caltapa tree belonged to him. He has been here for 18 years and his Caltapa tree is huge. He is a very interesting man and is a joy to care for. Today we are watching a group of butterflies on a tree out back. Took some pictures and put them on the Butterfly site.

but back to the tree I did plant on a mound and the Catalpa tree has some green on it that looks like it will make it.

Thanks a lot

sami

Just in case it dont make it, you can collect seeds from those long "beans" in late fall. I started some seedlings for my dad this year and almost all of the seeds germinated very easily.

Thanks escambiaguy
I will be sure and do that anyway since I don't have hardly any trees at all on my property and would like to have something that grows really fast.

Sami