Question
Hello

We planted a tree (Homestead Elm) 7 days ago. We live in Northern Ky the temp have been in 100 everyday. We have watered deeply everyday. The soil is mussey to touch under the mulch. The leaves are turning yellow and falling off. My husband planted this tree leaving it about 12 in out of the ground and put a 3ft circle around it mounding it up. Can this just be stress from planting. Could we have over watered or can you leave a plant to high out of the ground?

Answer
It sounds like a few things are at play here. The initial planting shock with the heat can definitely cause leaf yellow and drop. Also, the watering most likely needs to be scaled back. The soil should feel moist like a rung-out sponge, not mucky. Too much water can cause a number of problems such as root rot. Overly saturated soils can also hinder uptake to the tree.

Current practice is planting the rootflare of a tree well above the existing grade. That being said, 12" seems overly high to me. If you have bermed the soil up around the root ball it should be ok. You would be better off leaving the tree as is than changing the grade at this time.

When trees experience stress, a healthy response is the discarding of leaves. A tree that goes yellow to brown and does not discard its leaves is a dead tree in many cases.

Matthew Clemons