Watering Transplanted Tree

Question

I just had a small maple tree transplanted, and it is not leafing out. It seems that the water is not penetrating the soil, but just pooling up or running off. I thought the soil was saturated, but a moisture meter says it’s on the dry side. What can I do?

Answer 1

If the root ball was planted in a soil mix that had peat moss, it is possible that the peat dried out and is repelling water. I would take a long stake or something long and push it into the soil where the root ball is planted to help create some wells in it where the water can penetrate and re-hydrate the root ball. You will also want to let the water run over the area for an hour or so to swamp the area. This will also help re-hydrate the root ball.