Many trees and plants are susceptible to root rot originating in the union where the trunk and roots meet - ground level. If moisture is held against that union and rot sets in, when your tree is 12 - 15 years old for no apparent reason, it will die. Anything holding moisture against a tree trunk will cause rot, even grass or other plants. It doesn't happen every single time but it does happen enough to make people aware of the problem. Losing a tree of some size after that many years is heartbreaking. Some trees, such as Arborvitae, will get root rot every time.

Cherry trees hate clay soils and moist roots. You are lucky you are getting one to grow, even if slowly. When we lived on river bottom land, we had to have a cherry tree especially grafted to survive the high water table (it was about 25 ft down).

bluegrassmom said:I am just digging a hole in my back garden. We do have clay based soil. The hole was at least 18 inches across. I planted it to the same dept that it was in the nursery pot.

Springfield MO here, and we have these bloodgoods all over the place, all we have here mostly is clay soil. These are one of the more hardy/robust varieties. If you have difficulty growing them in the ground, I would advise against buying a more delicate variety and/or trying pots. Some trees are weak at the graft area. Did you notice any signs of pest damage, such as voles, rabbits chewing/damaging the truck down low? Or any area where a weed eater or other damage may be happening? Since this thread is about a year old now, curious to know if you got any more and how they did this winter. Did you shake all of the material off of the root ball and spread the roots out into your hole when you planted them? If you just dug a hole and took the tree out of the pot and set it in the hole like that, they will most likely die. They are generally grown in a bark like 'stuff' not soil at all and they very easily die from lack of moisture, nutrition or strangle in that tangled up mess before the roots can establish enough to maintain the tree. They are kept alive entirely artificially at nurseries-constantly watered, fertilized ect. They drain out almost immediately, and cannot hold any moisture or nutrients in that loose material.

bluegrassmom said:Ok, I really, really want to have a Japanese maple in my garden. I think the ones I have lost were Bloodgood. They all are over 3 ft tall. This winter was mild, never below 15 degrees. I don't have any sign of budding. Please help, what am I doing wrong?

Thanks

Also a mild winter temperature wise is a bonus, but we have had winters here that were very dry- and I had to water things, even dormant plants can dry out. This is especially true if you did not shake off the potted material and spread the roots out into actual dirt or if the tree is not established. It can take a good 3 or 4 years for a JM to root out, they grow slow anyway.

Our flowering cherries weren't planted in places that stay moist; only in the native clay soil. As it happens, 2 lines of them follow along 2 different roads... and the lower road is shaped such that I suspect a lot more salt spray gets onto it during the winter months. Perhaps that's why the ones planted there seemed still to be about the same size as when I originally planted them many years ago (not even 2' high!). The ones on the upper road, on the other hand, (in some cases) were taller than me.

Only last year was it suggested I apply Gypsum to the soil, for the affect it has in making clay soils somehow be less like clay - draining better, and letting the salts leach out of the soils, etc. Online sources have confirmed this effect, so I applied some - and will be curious to see how much difference it makes.

Also, thanks for sharing your reasoning! (In regards to planting trunks deeply.) Probably not a good idea for anything prone to root rot, without careful consideration of the site factors involved.

Anyone try air layering your maples?