Horsechestnut replanting

 
Hi there, just to start Im not a gardener or even a budding one, but I
do want to keep a horsechestnut tree that has grown in my back garden
from a conker that I think some kid lobbed in my garden not too long
ago!!


It has grown (without my knowledge until last week when planning a new
garage) to about 4ft with about a 2 ft root.  So I moved the tree to a
new spot and to do this I banged a stake into the ground and then
removed it creating a 2cm wide hole and then replanted the root into the
hole.


Now from doing this I think Ive done 3 things wrong ;
1. the tree isnt dormant (I found this out from a google search!)
2. the root curled a little when I pushed it into the hole.
3. Im not sure if the soil around the hole fell back into it when I
buried the root!


SO now, after 3 days, I have a particularly sad, droopy looking tree on
my hands :(


Does anyone have any experience of this?  Is my tree a gonner?  Will it
revive itself later in the year?  Ive watered it twice and it gets alot
of sunshine each day but should I give it more water?  Should I dig it
up and replant with compost??


Thanks for all your advice!




--
Spence333

 

Keep the ground around it moist, but not waterlogged, and maybe give it
some shade during the heat of the day, until its roots re-establish
themselves. Maybe a shot of root-tone, or some such.
--
- Billy

Bush's 3rd term: Obama plus another elective war
Bush's 4th term: another Judas goat

America is not broke. The country is awash in wealth and cash.
It's just that it's not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the
greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks
and the portfolios of the uber-rich.
<http://theuptake.org/2011/03/05/michael-moore-the-big-lie-wisconsin-is-broke/>

 On Thu, 5 May 2011 22:48:37 +0000, Spence333


Should have been dug up with a root ball, not bare root... and not
planted too deep.  Do not stomp the soil down around the tree and do
not over water lest you drown it (keep moist, not wet), tree roots
need to breathe.  I'd definitely not replant.  All you can do now is
wait.

 

Sounds like you brutalized that tree good!

1. Banging a stake into the ground?  What kind of way is that to dig
a hole?  Do you own a shovel?  If not get one.  Amongst other things
banging a stake into the ground will compact the soil.  You want loose
soil around the roots.

2. How deep into the hole did you shove the tree.  You must plant the
tree at the same depth you found it.  Where the roots and stem meet
the plant grows in 2 different directions.  That interface must be
right at ground level.

Dig it out, dig a hole as wide as the roots when spread out.
Mound the soil up under the bare root and spread the roots over the
mound with the roots leading downward.  Then cover the roots with soil.
With a shovel, not a stake.

Now for the stake, put a stake in the ground near the tree and tie the
tree to the stake to hold it up until the roots take over.

3 days may not have killed it.


--
Dan Espen

 

 My first thought was to cross your fingers and hope for the best.
Maybe throw a few more conkers in the ground nearby
 for good luck.   < insurance >   :-)
I've got a little chestnut that suffered some lawnmower damage
when just a wee thing -  it seems pretty hardy  ..
 ( but roots are a different thing - in your case)  
On mine - the old bark-scars have lasted through several years.
  Good luck.  Don't lose any sleep over it.
   John T.