Question
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Followup To
Question -
Hi, I hope you can help.  I bought for my wife two Monterey Bay Brush Cherry trees from a nursery and they have almost completely died.  For Mother's day I went to a Nursery and told the gardener that I was looking for a couple of large inside plants or trees for my wife to decorate with.  They recommened and sold me two beautifull spiral trees, came to the house potted them and placed them.  They told us to water them once to twice a week and add a bit of Miracle Grow once a month.  Over the first month, all the leaves fell off and they looked pretty much dead.  We called the nursery and they said there was nothing they could do about it, just that the trees were adapting to there new enviroment.  So we moved them outside thinking they must need more light and have been keeping the soil moist.  The have started to sprout leaves from the very top of the tree a little bit, but most of the tree still looks dead, and I definatley don't think I can move them back inside, which is what they were bought for.  They also sold me a sage plant for the kitchen, and it has almost died completely.  I spent over $700.00 on the two trees and now they are almost totally dead.  Please let me know what I should do?

Thanks,

Shawn Buchanan

Answer -
Shawn,

I am assuming that you live in California since Brush Cherry trees will not survive outdoors in cold weather. To begin with I would go in to the nursery and demand to speak to the manager.
But first I have some questions:
1. How sunny was the location in the house that they were in? How close to a window were they? What direction did that window face?

2. What is the diameter of the pots they are in?

3. Do you know what kind of potting soil they were planted in? It should have been a very sandy &/or gravelly well draining soil.

4. Do the pots have drainage holes and are there drainage trays under them?

5.  You said,"They told us to water them once to twice a week". How much water did you give them once or twice a week?  How did you determine when to water the plants? How dry did they get before you watered them and how much water did you give them?

The sage and the brush cherrys all need full sun all day and that is very difficult to give them indoors. How much info did the nursery give you about their care needs? If they weren't planted in sandy porous soil and you weren't given specific watering instructions I feel you have grounds to demand they be replaced or your money back. Did you tell them you were beginners with plants?

There is a chance they will green up again but only with good care, lots of sun and time.  Iff you answer my questions I will try to answer any more questions you have.

         Darlene    [email protected]

Hi and thanks for the response,
Actually we live in Florida, and it was the manager/owner who sold them to me.  The room is a little sunny, but no direct light would have hit the plants where they were.  The were about 5 foot from the window and but located on the same side wall as it.  
The pots are about 2 foot diameter, but the soil seems to be regular potting soil.  The pots do have drainage holes and there were drainage trays for them.
They didn't tell us how much to water, just to do it, so my wife was keeping the soil moist watering them two to three times a week.  The nursery gave us no info, saying they were great indoors and easy to take care of. Because I told them that we were not very good with plants, and I didn't want something that would die easily.
So they were beautiful for the first two to three weeks, now they are sticks with more sticks hanging off them.  But we have move them onto the deck, and some leaves have started to sprout form the top.  Any advice would be extremely helpfull.

Thanks again,

Shawn

P.S.  Any advice on the Sage plant, that they sold me that is also dieing, that they said was for inside also and impossible to kill.  

Answer
Shawn,

Where are you in Florida? If you are in South Florida where there is no danger of frost you should leave the brush cherrys outdoors where they will get lots of sun and they may recuperat. They should never have been indoors 5 foot from a window. These are beautiful trees that need sun. The same with the sage, put it on the deck where it will get sun and it too should recuperate. If you ever repot them the soil should be half potting soil and half sand.

As for watering, when you water you need to give them enough water so that all the soil in the pot is moist and a little water goes into the drain tray under the pot.  Then do not water them again until the soil feels dry at least a couple inches down. If you want to be really careful about not overwatering you can get a moisture meter at any garden center for under $10.00. That will tell you whether the soil is dry enough to need water or not. The reason that you need to be careful about not overwatering is that roots absorb moisture from the water but as the soil dries out the roots also absorb carbon dioxide from the soil. If the soil is always wet they do not get that chance to breathe so the roots need alternating wet and dry periods.

If I was you I would be tempted to threaten them with small claims court for not giving you good advice about the tree, nor did they put it in well draining soil.

With good sunshine and a little less water they should recuperate but it will take awhile.  Sorry for your bad experience. Good luck.
         Darlene