Question
Hello folks,

We planted a 10 foot Crimson King a little over a month ago.  Soon after planting, we experienced three or four straight days of heavy rain.  I have subsequently found out that the area I planted the tree does not have very good drainage.  My bad for not checking first!  Anyway, the root ball sat in water for a week or so before I figured out the drainage issue. The tree has gone downhill ever since and right now looks dead.  I pulled the tree from the hole a couple of weeks ago to try to 'dry it out'.  My question is ... is there any hope for it, can it recover from saturated roots, or shall I consider it a 'gonner'?

Let me know your thoughts.  Thanks.

Rich

Answer
You can check the tree and see if it is still alive by starting near the end of  upper outer branch and scraping a small bit of bark off and if the color under the bark is green the branch is still alive. IF the color is brown the branch is dead at that point on the branch. If not green continue down the branch scrapping at intervals until you find green or reach the trunk. If no green is found try other branches if no green is found the tree is dead.