Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Sep 16, 2012 8:07 pm hi there long time lurker, first time poster. About 2 months ago I planted 4 ornamental pear trees. Currently, 3 of them are going along fine with new leaves sprouting, but one has had no obvious new growth. All 4 trees have been receiving the same amount of water/sunlight/planted in same soil etc. See pics below: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Four trees, problem tree is second from left. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ New growth on good tree Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Problem tree with no growth Can anyone offer any suggestions/tips or anything to help give my problem tree a kickstart? Thanks Re: Ornamental Pear help 2Sep 16, 2012 9:33 pm I wouldn't worry too much. Spring has only just begun. I think I can see lateral buds....hard to tell at that distance. Perhaps apply some Seasol and Powerfeed if you haven't already for Spring. Re: Ornamental Pear help 4Sep 20, 2012 5:35 pm What I was thinking is its strange for one to be so much different to the others, but then I got to wondering whether there might be a rock or builders rubble or something under that one, perhaps just below how far you dug down so you didn't see it? Re: Ornamental Pear help 5Sep 21, 2012 8:49 am Use your finger nail or some blunt instrument to scratch away a little bark a mm deep. If its green its alive, brown its deadsky. Its possible the top tips could be dead but the bottom fine. Ornamental Pear help 7Sep 26, 2012 7:32 am We have a manchurian pear that has taken until just this last week to show signs of life this spring. I was beginning to worry as all our other decid trees barr one had leaves forming. Glad to hear your is still green looks like it is just a little slower to get moving again Re: Ornamental Pear help 8Apr 13, 2013 9:00 pm Bumping this.... Still no change to this tree. It now seems as though the top two thirds are dead. I had resigned myself to digging it out replacing it sometime soon. Anyway today I was digging round, pulling weeds and so forth, and noticed that the soil around that tree was far more damp/clumpy/clay like than in the rest of the garden bed. It almost seemed to look more grey or silver than the other areas if that makes sense. My best guess is I've got a patch of bad soil, or there is a leak in a water pipe nearby, which I will investigate further tomorrow. If it is the soil, any suggestions on how to improve the soil before I plant another tree? would it be worth trying to save the other tree? What would be the best way to do this? Re: Ornamental Pear help 9Apr 18, 2013 10:45 pm That is some horribly grown specimens. The poor things. Not your growing, but the growing done by the nursery. Terrible. Take away those stakes. Throw them away. You'll need to cut the poor things back to half their size. Do so just a bit above a node. they are where the leaves come out the sides. A few millimetres up from them. Angle the cut. If those trees where permitted to grow and mature they will become a problem and be prone to snapping. They will be going to sleep soon so don't expect too much but continue to feed the soil microbes. feed the soil they are growing in. Great choice of mulch to help in that but kick things along with Seasol, Powerfeed, Homemade compost teas, molasses in water. Apply zeolite to the soil. Re: Ornamental Pear help 10Apr 18, 2013 10:47 pm No need to ditch the trees. add sand as well as zeolite. Just try as suggested and all will work out. Re: Ornamental Pear help 11Apr 23, 2013 9:26 pm Thanks for the reply. The pics above are from sept last year. Here is a current pic of one of the healthy (in my uninformed opinion) trees. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The stakes were removed a few months ago. They have been fed seasol regularly and mulch is going down this weekend. I have chopped back the tree that isn't growing. Based on the current pic, should I still cut back the other trees as suggested? Re: Ornamental Pear help 12Apr 23, 2013 9:46 pm I'd be taking them all back. I can't stress enough just how poorly grown they were before you bought them. They need a lower centre of gravity, and get a fuller shape. Doing that will give you trees that add value to a property rather than detract from it. Re: Ornamental Pear help 13Apr 23, 2013 9:48 pm Seasol alone just isn't enough to get them going well. It is an important part of a good range of soil enhancing products. Hi there, long-time lurker but first time posting. I've bought a house 2 and a bit years ago and last year we had some major water damage on a converted pergola area… 0 7930 Yes, unless you are in a low intensity rainfall area or the area is protected from rain. Do you have access to NCC Part 2 or can you download it? I can email you a copy… 10 12510 Thankyou so much 😀 I've decided on White on white for doors and trims, White on white 50% on ceiling and Mt buller for walls. Fingers crossed it will look OK 😀 2 7158 |