I bought over a dozen Eastern Red Cedar seedlings from two different sources, presumably field grown, which arrived bare root late last winter. I immediately planted in one gallon nursery pots with potting soil. At first everything went well in the spring. They proceeded to die one by one over the summer with three left by the time winter set in. They would die one branch at a time until the entire tree went brown. They were in full sun and watered regularly. The ones that lived did well and have now gone into purplish winter color.
Any thoughts? Too much sun? Over watered? Insects? Could I have damaged the roots when planting? I trimmed some of the tap roots to fit the pots. Doesn’t seem like cedar apple rust and maybe I’m taking too much risk in north Georgia, but the apple orchards are miles away. I wanted to create a forest, so I want to try again but am hesitant. If I were to do again I would use Anderson flats, but again the tap roots will likely be longer than the flat is deep. Thanks.
Hey there! I have some experience with Juniperus virginiana coming from a plant extension service, they came bareroot. At the time I had perlite and a potting mix mixture on hand. After cultivating all 7 of them for two years now i have noticed two things;
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They REEEEEEEEAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYY like a higher air to water ratio. My first year with them I watered heavily and the soil was always moist to the touch. After joining mirai I have pulled wayyyyy back on watering and noticed a huge growth spurt the second year. I also learned that they seem to be extremely slow growing! So temper expectations! *that might just be my experience
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I have a lot to learn about the species!
Thanks! That helps a bunch. I’m going to order some more this year and see if I can do better.
Based on my limited knowledge….
Morning sun only on newly transplanted material.
Regardless of the established requirements.
Full sun is for trees with AN established root system.
Potting soil can mean anything
So you could try a 50/50 mix of pumice, potting soil.
A 75% to 25% ( pumice being the 75%)
Or look up the video with Randy Knight transplanting directly into wood chips. The size of the chips seems important.
50% pumice, 25% peat, 25% potting soil…
Anything to improve aeration and drainage.
So reducing the sun, improving the drainage could help dramatically.
As an avid user of Eden Solutions products if you are in the USA I would foliar spray with HYDRO aka BASE BLEND.
Foliar at one TBSP per gallon.
My base advice is this
Never put a newly transplanted plant of any type into full sun unless of course you are planting it in the ground. Many trees planted in the ground in full sun still die.
It is a lot to ask of a stressed plant. Never bare root an evergreen!!!
So buying bare root stock you may need to change the game.
Perhaps your spring cycle of April, May in morning sun.
June a little more sun
July back to morning sun
If still alive and kicking in late August there should be enough root development to allow full sun as the temps cool down.
( I am in the Northeast USA so you may have to adjust the time window to match your seasonal cycle.)
They definitely need mostly morning sun until they have an established roots system.
I am not an expert on anything.
But cooking any non established plant in the hot sun can be detrimental.
As suggested by others above good draining soil is mandatory.
Even 1:1:1: composted pine bark to compost/ potting soil, to perlite like a standard nursery mix will dry out faster than just potting soil. Perhaps ask the local nurseries what their mix for your region is…
Good luck…
Thanks.
If you are going to order eastern red cedar seedlings, they are going to come bare root. I haven’t found any other source.
I’m going to try again this year with modified soil mixture.