HELP a Newbie, please! Question on my shrubs

[joylian2010]

My husband brought home two topiary grown trees that we planted in the front of our home. they were so beautiful For about two days. After two days they began to turn brown and the leaves are now dead.
They get plenty of sunlight in the morning and in the afternoon a good shadow. We are watering them day and night hoping to save them, but I am new at this and don't know what to do to nurse them back to health. Can someone help me please? Is it too late to save them? If not, what can I do to help them?

[rainbowgardener]

Unfortunately, I'm thinking they are dead and past saving. More watering is probably the worst thing you can do. Watering "day and night" is almost never a good thing to do. People think oh it's getting brown, it must need more water, but the browning may be already due to too much water.

Some how your topiary did not survive the shock of transition from where it was to its new location. I think even in pots it is very difficult to move large full grown trees like that. You wanted instant look of maturity, like the trees had been there for years, but that is very difficult to fake.

You would be much better off to start with small young trees, which are more adaptable and let them grow in place. But even so when you bring home a tree, you need to put it in a very shady spot and gradually expose it more and more. Look up the kind of tree you have and its needs as far as water, sun, etc. Each plant has its own set of requirements.

I hope where you bought the trees, which were undoubtedly quite expensive, gave you some kind of guarantee.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. I think you didn't get a response sooner, because no one wanted to be the one to tell you your very expensive trees are goners ...

[imafan26]

It doesn't look good. My guess, the most common mistake would be that you buried them too deep and they were not acclimated first.

[rainbowgardener]

Oh right.... for some odd reason I was thinking these were in containers, I guess just because that would be more typical.

Personally I think it is nearly impossible to plop trees that size down in a new place and expect they are going to make it. It is hard to do the gradual acclimating with bare root or balled in burlap trees because they will be suffering all the time not in ground. But they also can't handle just being stuck in new place.

Get young trees and while they are growing you will have plenty of time to learn topiary skills! Then you will be so much more proud of the trees you grew and shaped yourself!