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Article: ROOTS COULD BE UNDERLYING PROBLEM
- Article from:
- Evansville Courier & Press (2007-Current)
- Article date:
- July 5, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Evansville Courier & Press (2007-Current). Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Earlier in June, before the heat wave, I saw a beautiful,
healthy, weeping cherry that had been planted last November. Ten
days later, it was dead, the leaves showing severe scorch symptoms.
At first glance, one would suspect heat and drought stress. One
would be wrong.
The gardener said she'd been watering regularly ever since the
heat started. When I dug up the tree, there were few live roots, and
standing water in the planting hole.
The excess water in the hole was a clue as to why the plant
hadn't grown much in the way of a root system in eight months.
The tree had been planted in the lowest part of the garden. The
soil was poorly drained: It contained large amounts of clay, and had
been ...