Weeping Peach Tree

Question

I purchased a young weeping peach tree (5.5 ft tall) and planted it around the middle of March in my backyard in Tampa, FL. When I planted it, I added a large bag of gardening soil since the soil in my area is densely packed and sandy, and I topped the soil with river pebbles and made a watering ring to help retain water while the soil settled. The tree receives 9+ hours of direct sunlight and is about 20-30 feet from a small retention pond on a slightly downward-sloping bank. I watered it daily with approximately 2-3 gallons of water.

For the first week or so, the tree seemed to do very well (lots of new growth, lots of blossoms). Then Tampa experienced about a week of very nasty weather with high winds (tornados developed directly in my area) and high rain (8.49 inches during the last FOUR days of the month). The tree lost all of its leaves on its lower branches during the storms, but kept the leaves on the upper half of the tree. In the two weeks since, the leaves have remained wilted and there is very little new growth. The branches are flexible (not brittle).

I backed off to watering it every other day but have seen no improvement. I’m concerned that it’s getting too much water, but am afraid to go more than a day or two without watering it because it is getting very warm here (upper 80s/low 90s).

My questions are: How do I determine if it’s getting too much water? If it is getting too much, how much do I cut back on watering it? How do I know when to go back to watering it on a regular basis again? Is it possible that it’s getting too much sun?

Answer 1

It is really hard to give a tree too much water when you first plant it. It would have to be in nearly standing water for it to be too much. It sounds like the extra stress from the storms has sent the tree into transplant shock. This article will help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/environmental/learn-how-to-avoid-and-repair-transplant-shock-in-plants.htm