Gardening and Horticulture - Lady Bug SOS, Bradford Pear tree

Hi! Message posted aug 3 about planting tree after dirt fell off root ball. Tree not doing good leaves are turning yellow then brown. Does this mean I lost it? It's been 1 1/2 weeks since it's been in the ground. The other tree looks fine. What to do?.

Might be lost but don't fear yet. Get ahold of someone at a local nursery that sells trees and see if they can offer any better ideas. If you've got the same hot weather we've got here it is going to stress the tree under the best of conditions even without the root ball breaking apart on you.

I've seen trees go into shock and drop their leaves and then come back but at this point there is no way to know if that is going to happen or not. You can scrape just a "teeny" little bit (just a dot) of surface bark off a small "little branchlet" and see if the layer underneath is still green. That means that branchlet at least is still alive.

Sometimes a plant, a tree is just a big plant, will go into shock if you disturb its roots. It will drop its leaves to compensate for root loss and/or damage. Hopefully this is what is going on.

Perhaps someone at the nursery can offer you some additional assistance. I wish there was something else I could tell you to do. I could never be a landscaper because they allow for a percentage of lost trees. I can't stand to lose even one. I know it is just a tree but it's your tree and I'd like to see it make it. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks for the info. I'll keep you updated on the progress.

I know it's silly to worry about a tree but any tree named "Todd" just has to make it. Do keep me posted and be sure to check with your local nursery for any advice tailored to your specific climate, soil, etc. or any trick they may have up their sleeve that I don't know about. Best - Ladybug