New-tree check

A tree planted in the last two years that wilts, browns or will not leaf out is most often stressed by the move, not sick. Pick the sign, then answer what the yard shows: weeks since planting, how it was sold, the month, the soil, the root flare, the mulch, the weather and the bark. The check ranks the three likeliest first-year causes, each with what points to it, the one check that confirms it and the next step. Every rule is shown with its source, so you can see why one cause ranks above another. It is not a diagnosis: where the signs point past a new tree's shock, the check sends you to a certified arborist or to us.

What you see The sign that worries you most. Each sign has its own likely causes, so pick the one you saw first if there are several. Weeks since planting Count from the day it went in the ground. The check covers the first two years, up to 104 weeks, and transplant shock counts most in the first. How it was sold Bare-root stock is the most prone to shock, and a potted root ball dries out fastest. Each plant page says which forms it comes in. Month The month you see the sign. It brings in the season: a late frost in spring, fall color in autumn, bare branches in winter. Soil 6 inches down Dig in beside the root ball with a trowel and squeeze a pinch of soil from about 6 inches down. It tells too little water from too much. Root flare at the soil line The flare is where the trunk widens into its first roots. On a tree planted at the right depth it shows at the soil line. Mulch or soil on the trunk Pull the mulch back by hand to see. Nothing should touch the bark. Weather, last two weeks A heat wave raises scorch and thirst, a late frost the loss of new growth, and heavy rain wet roots and a lean. Bark chewed or rubbed Look all the way round the trunk, from under the mulch to about 3 feet up, for gnawing, shredded strips or a scrape.

The answer updates as you choose.

The check needs JavaScript. Its rules are these, and the list and the sources below give each one with its source.

It scores the common first-year causes that fit the sign you see. Each starts at 1 to 3 points by how directly the sources tie it to the sign. Each fact you give then adds points, takes them away or rules the cause out. The three with the most points show, and a tie goes to the commoner first-year trouble. Every size is the check's own reading, since the sources give each rule its direction and no weight.

Transplant shock shows as wilting, scorch, yellowing, early leaf drop, late leaf-out, tan needle tips and dieback, by Purdue Extension and the University of Kentucky. It counts for more in the first year after planting, and for bare-root and balled stock. Bare branches from November to March count against it, since a deciduous tree is dormant then.

Soil that crumbles about 6 inches down points to too little water, and soil that drips to too much, as Clemson Cooperative Extension reads the squeeze test. Soil that holds together counts a little against both, except that a potted or balled root ball can be dry inside moist soil. A pot, a heat wave and the first 12 weeks add to too little water, and so does a bare-root tree with no leaves. Heavy rain counts a little against too little water. Heavy rain and the first 12 weeks add to too much.

A root flare that does not show points to planting too deep, and one that shows rules it out. When you are not sure of the flare, potted and balled stock add to it, and wet soil adds to it either way. Mulch or soil touching the trunk points to rot at the base, and a clear trunk rules it out. Both count for more in the second year, when slow harm starts to tell.

A heat wave points to heat scorch, and so does summer, from June to August. From November to March, without a heat wave, scorch counts against heat. A late frost points to frost damage on new growth, and so does spring, from March to June or from April for a conifer. Without a frost in the last two weeks, frost damage is ruled out in July, August and from November to February.

A conifer browning from December to April points to winter injury, and so does scorch on evergreen leaves from December to March. Dead buds and shoots point to it from March to May, and it is ruled out from June to October. Bark split or peeling points to sunscald or a frost crack, more from December to May and more in dry soil.

Bark chewed or rubbed points to a wound, and so does mulch on the trunk, which hides voles. No animal damage counts a little against it. A lean points to roots not yet anchored, more so after heavy rain or in wet soil, in the first year and for bare-root stock.

The season explains bare branches from November to March, a late leaf-out before June 1, yellowing and falling leaves from September to November, and conifers browning from September to March. September counts only a little, since some species turn early and early color can be stress. From April to August the season counts against a conifer's browning, and a tree still bare after June 1 points past the season, as Iowa State Extension judges it.

The signs point past a new tree's shock for a lean or hurt bark, and when an injury or a planting fault ranks first. They do too for a tree still bare after June 1, and for dieback or lasting wilt in the second year. Then the check sends you to a certified arborist or to us.

Start with the sign

Pick the sign that worries you, and the check lists the common first-year causes that fit it. Your answers about the soil, the root flare, the mulch, the weather and the bark then put them in order. Each comes with what points to it, the one check that confirms it, the next step and its source.

What to check first, and how

Start at the soil. A few hours after watering, dig a small hole beside the root ball, half as deep as the ball, and squeeze a pinch from the bottom. Water that drips means too much, soil that crumbles too little, and soil that holds together is about right. Then push a finger into the root ball itself, which dries out sooner than the soil around it.
Then the base of the trunk. The root flare, where the trunk widens into its first roots, should show at the soil line, with the top roots just under the surface. A trunk that goes into the ground like a post is planted too deep. Scrape the soil away by hand to find the first root.
Pull the mulch back. Nothing should touch the bark. Keep the mulch no deeper than 3 inches over the roots, and 6 inches clear of a small tree's trunk.
Look all the way round the bark. From under the mulch at the soil line to about 3 feet up, look for gnawing, shredded strips, a mower's scrape or a tie biting in. Split or sunken bark on the south or southwest side is winter sun.
Scratch a twig. Green under the bark is alive, and brown, dry wood has died back. Work down toward the trunk until you find green, since a seedling whose top dies can sprout again from the base.
Read the season. A deciduous tree is bare from fall to spring, and a new one may leaf out late: judge it only after June 1. Leaves turn and drop in fall, and conifers shed their oldest inner needles then, while bald cypress, pond cypress and tamarack drop every needle.
Do not feed it or prune live wood. A stressed new tree is not fed, and pruning does not cure transplant shock. Cut only dead wood, and only once new growth shows where it ends.
Give it time. A tree takes about a year for each inch of trunk to recover from the move, and some show it for two years or more. If no branches are dying and each year's growth beats the last, the tree is doing well.

The rules for transplant shock follow the Morton Arboretum, whose researchers found a tree "can lose as much as 90% of its root system when it is removed from the nursery". It finds that "approximately one year of recovery is needed for every inch of tree diameter". Its planting guide finds a balled and burlapped tree losing 80 to 95% of its roots. Purdue Extension gives the signs, calls leaf scorch "a common symptom of transplant shock", and finds "Bare root trees and shrubs are most susceptible to transplant shock." The University of Kentucky adds early leaf drop and leaves that come out late. Clemson Cooperative Extension finds pruning does not help a tree overcome transplant shock unless it is short of water. The sources disagree on how long shock lasts. Colorado State Extension gives a 1-inch tree 12 to 18 months to establish, and Purdue finds the signs "may be evident for two or more years". Kentucky gives three to five years to establish. The check keeps transplant shock on the list for all two years it covers and adds a point in the first year, its own reading of them. A seedling's top that dies is not always the end, since the USDA Forest Service and Purdue University find hardwood seedlings "may die back and re-sprout from the root collar".

The watering rules start from University of Minnesota Extension's schedule for a new tree, which the watering calculator follows. The squeeze test is Clemson Cooperative Extension's. It reads: "If water drips out between your fingers, you are watering too much; if soil crumbles and falls out of your hand as you open your fingers, you are watering too little." Clemson warns that "the root ball might be bone dry" when the soil beside it is right. Its transplanting factsheet finds roots drying out perhaps "the single most important cause of failure" with bare-root stock. Iowa State Extension finds the root ball "will dry out sooner than the surrounding soil". University of Maryland Extension finds a nursery's potting mix drying out quickly, and a tree that wilts on a hot day firming up by evening in moist soil. Its page on excess water warns: "Too much water can be just as damaging as too little." Colorado State Extension finds drought on a broadleaf tree "most often appears as leaf scorch". Wet roots instead yellow the crown from low and inside, with "little marginal leaf scorching". Its rule for wet soil is "Never apply irrigation if soil is saturated." The sources check the soil at different depths: Clemson half way down the root ball, Maryland about 6 inches and Colorado State 8 to 10 inches. The check follows Maryland's 6 inches, as the watering calculator does.

For planting depth, Illinois Extension writes: "If it looks like a telephone pole sticking out of the ground, the tree is planted too deep." The Morton Arboretum sets the flare "at least 1/2 inch above the soil" with the top roots "just below the soil surface". University of Maryland Extension finds "A planting depth of only one-inch too deep can cause trouble." It finds a tree recently planted too deeply "can be lifted and replanted", and Iowa State Extension moves a deciduous tree after leaf drop or in early spring. Iowa State also finds potted and balled trees often sold with soil over the flare. Clearing soil and mulch down to the flare is root collar excavation, which Illinois Extension leaves to a certified arborist on a tree that is struggling. For mulch, Illinois Extension writes: "Piling mulch onto the bark exposes it to dark and moisture. The bark will start to rot". University of Maryland Extension keeps mulch no deeper than three inches and finds that mulch on the trunk "Provides a hiding place for voles". The sources leave different gaps at the trunk: Illinois 2 inches, Maryland about 3, and Iowa State at least 6 for a small tree. The check follows Iowa State, since the wider gap also keeps voles off the bark. The depth differs too: the Morton Arboretum lays 3 to 4 inches and Colorado State 4 to 5 of wood chips. The check keeps to Maryland's three, since Maryland finds deep mulch starves the roots of air.

Colorado State Extension gives heat scorch and frost too: frost injury comes after "early fall and late spring frosts", and "Sunscald occurs during cold, bright days in midwinter." Iowa State Extension finds frozen new leaves "shrivel, turn brown or black, become limp, and eventually drop". It finds most trees "rebound within weeks by producing new growth". Its conifer page finds winter drying "almost exclusive to younger, newly planted trees" and gives the normal fall needle drop. University of Minnesota Extension gives sunscald, its repair and a white wrap for at least two winters. University of Maryland Extension finds an evergreen's winter color will often "revert back to normal" in spring, and some splits in young bark are normal growth cracks. The fall color season is the Missouri Department of Conservation's, from mid-September to mid-November. Maryland counts early fall color as a sign of stress, and calls an evergreen's inner needle yellowing "a normal fall color". The Morton Arboretum's warning sign is new growth that is discolored or wilted. The scratch test and the June 1 rule are Iowa State Extension's. Its rule: "Wait until at least June 1st before making any determination about the survival of a tree or shrub that has not yet leafed out."

For bark, Iowa State Extension finds "All growth above the girdled areas will eventually die", antler rubs 1.5 to 3.5 feet up, and wound dressings that "do not help". University of Maryland Extension guards a trunk with a hardware cloth cylinder 18 inches tall, sunk 2 to 3 inches into the soil. It finds mowers and string trimmers the commonest cause of hurt bark at the base. Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels gives the guard for each animal. For a lean, University of Minnesota Extension watches for a root system that "still moves in the soil when the stem is moved", and ties a tree loosely for one growing season. Penn State Extension finds "Trees may be uprooted or fall in wet soils". Iowa State Extension finds "Bare root trees will likely need to be staked for the first year." The Morton Arboretum supports a new tree "to prevent uprooting and leaning until the roots have had a chance to grow".

Feeding is where the sources part. University of Minnesota Extension feeds a winter-injured evergreen in early spring, but Colorado State Extension says "Never fertilize trees in the establishment phase that are showing signs of stress." Iowa State Extension does not feed after cold damage. The check follows Colorado State and Iowa State for a tree in its first two years.

What this cannot see: insects and disease, herbicide drift, soil pH, roots circling below ground and salt. Iowa State Extension finds an insect or disease on a new tree is usually secondary to a problem such as overwatering or deep planting, so the checks here come first. A certified arborist can see what they miss, and the International Society of Arboriculture's directory finds one near you. Or write to us through the support page with what you see and when it started. Photographs of the whole tree and of the trouble can follow by email once we reply.

It is a starting point, not a diagnosis. The whole subject is in Is my new tree dying or just in shock?, and the years after planting are in A year-by-year care calendar for a newly planted tree. A bare-root tree's first spring is in Bare-root trees on arrival, and the watering schedule is the watering calculator's.