A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Plant pests and problems Evergreen topiaries dying

In late April I bought two "Little Gem Spruce Standard" topiary. They did great until June 12th. we went away on a trip and watered before we went. We returned 4 days later and the weather had been hot. One of the topiary had started turning brown so we started watering. Within a week it was totally brown. Now the other is starting to turn but much more slowly.

I followed the instructions for planting and I don't think I am over watering. I have checked the soil several times and as the tag suggested it is semi-moist.

Here is a link to a pic.
http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n370/Icom2957/DSCF8342.jpg

Thanks,
JR

you planted them in late april? i'm wondering about the roots and how you dug the hole. a wise gardener said one time "ugly holes are best, that way roots don't think they have traded one pot for another". i don't the other thing is if you have watered them too much. as evergreens, they should be able to dry out a little bit. by now they should be able to handle 4 days. again, back to the planting holes and the condition of the roots when you planted them.

Thanks for the reply. I dug a large hole (twice the size of the ball) and watered it, I mixed the refill dirt with mulch. I did not remove the burlap wrap on the ball. Should I have done that?

I dug around the ball to make cuts in the burlap thinking it was affecting the roots. I noticed that the dirt inside the burlap was drier and seemed more compacted than the surrounding dirt that I planted with.

Sounds like you planted it correctly with the exception of loosening the burlap on the top of the ball. If you look at the plant the burlap appears to be very tight around the base of it. Another possibility is that you may have spider mites. They are very small and can be difficult to see on the plant. Take a sheet of printer paper out to the plant and hold it under it. Smack the plant a few times to dislodge any of the little critters and you will see them crawling around on the paper. If so, there are miticides that can be used, or you can try soaking the top portion of the plant a few times each day, as they hate the water, they will leave in search of drier pastures.

Thanks, I loosened the burlap and checked for mites. I did see some bugs so I treated with a miticide. Thanks everyone I will monitor the shrub and watch it for changes.

Did you buy them at a nursery with a warranty...if they are in real bad shape. I'd call and try exchange them.