Transplanted Cherry Tree fading quick!!!!
A friend of mine has given me a cherry tree (3-4 feet tall) that self rooted itself in her yard from her mature Cherry tree, she dug it up leaving the root nicely intact. I then dug a nice sized hole and planted it with rich top soil. Two days later the weather changed immensly, going from the low to mid 60's to 90+ sunny and very humid. I have been giving the sapling about a gallon of water every day (sometimes with Miracle Grow mixed in) but it is drooping badly, with a good half of the leaves turning yellow. Is it just severly shocked? Or did I dig a hole in my front lawn only to end up re-seeding the grass??? I was told that it isn't unusual for it to drop most if not all of it's leaves, and to keep giving it water and it should come back, but I am having my doubts.....
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The Helpful Gardener
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Not a great time of year for transplanting cherries; usually done in fall after they drop leaves. Gives the roots time to set up before they need to support leaves...
Also the chemical fertilizer is a bad idea right after transplant. Damaged, shocked roots need soil biology like mycorrhizal fungii and their supporting bacterias to help get them through the initial shock of transplant but ammonia salt fertilizer kills these beneficial organisms outright, and makes transplanting even iffier...
I would not use more chemical fertilizer until it takes. Find a good compost (preferably fresh, as good bagged stuff is hard to find, but [url=https://www.organicmechanicsoil.com/]my buddy Mark makes a good one[/url]) and so does [url=https://www.coastofmaine.com/]my friend Pete[/url]). Getting good compost into the soil will help reestablish depleted organisms; making your own is the best bet yet... Try organic fertilizers to feed both plants and soils. Using a [url=https://www.fungi.com/mycogrow/index.html]mycorrhizal supplement[/url]has saved hard cases like this for me before...
We have been sold on the idea of soil as a place to put roots and then we add chemicals, but that isn't how Nature works, it is far more biological than chemical. It is just another ecosystem and must be treated as one for best results in any plant endeavor...
HG
Also the chemical fertilizer is a bad idea right after transplant. Damaged, shocked roots need soil biology like mycorrhizal fungii and their supporting bacterias to help get them through the initial shock of transplant but ammonia salt fertilizer kills these beneficial organisms outright, and makes transplanting even iffier...
I would not use more chemical fertilizer until it takes. Find a good compost (preferably fresh, as good bagged stuff is hard to find, but [url=https://www.organicmechanicsoil.com/]my buddy Mark makes a good one[/url]) and so does [url=https://www.coastofmaine.com/]my friend Pete[/url]). Getting good compost into the soil will help reestablish depleted organisms; making your own is the best bet yet... Try organic fertilizers to feed both plants and soils. Using a [url=https://www.fungi.com/mycogrow/index.html]mycorrhizal supplement[/url]has saved hard cases like this for me before...
We have been sold on the idea of soil as a place to put roots and then we add chemicals, but that isn't how Nature works, it is far more biological than chemical. It is just another ecosystem and must be treated as one for best results in any plant endeavor...
HG
Ozzmann - FYI- I have a Bing Cherry Tree, second season in the ground. Leaves turning yellow so I took some leaves to the nursery along with some tomato leaves that were curling and the master gardener told me, "Too much water." We have compacted soil here which doesn't help. She told me if the yellowed leaves get any spots on them, then you have to buy a fungus spray because the tree will develop a fungus from too much water. She told me to purchase a water meter, well I can't even get it down into the soil. Also I removed the sod out to the drip line so the roots can get oxygen. These trees should be fertilized in very late winter. I will use blood meal on mine. Hope this helps.