Question
Dear Jim,
I have a six year old Giant Sequoia that I planted as a seedling.  It's roughly 12 feet tall and about 4 inches in diameter.  After transplanting it in early May, the tree is now turning brown from the bottom up at a high rate of speed.  At first, I thought that it may be shock.  Now I am seriously concerned that we may be losing this incredible tree.

Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you,

Scott
Charlotte, NC

Answer
It sounds like shock. This large a tree has lost a great deal of its root during planting and when root die the foliage will die back accordingly. If you have not done so mulch around the tree with not more than 3 inches deep of organic mulch not piled up on the trunk and water once a week with 1 inch of water=place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop. This is called deep watering and will cause the roots to grow deeper in the ground.