Trees - Redbud
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(February) Late last summer I purchased three types of trees. All being about 4 ft. tall. I have two Buckeye, two Red Bud and two Japanese Maple trees. The Japanese Maples I planted in a five gallon pot with good potting soil and have them in the sun room. The other four trees I also planted in a 5 gallon pot with potting soil, and they are outside. My question is, when and how do I plant them in the ground? I would like to plant one of the Japanese Maples in a corner of my house that faces SW. (The seller suggested that I pot them through the winter). The other five trees will be planter in the backyard receiving the morning and some afternoon sun.

  Fall would have been a fantastic time to plant them, but hindsight is always 20/20. I am curious why it was recommended that they go in containers for the winter? For now, plant all the trees that are currently outside. The sooner they are planted, the quicker they can establish a root system, and the faster they will grow. The Japanese maples that are indoors surprises me. They like to go dormant. How well are they doing inside? Unfortunately, you can't move it out until spring, since it would not be hardened off enough after its stint indoors. The Japanese maple would benefit from a bit of afternoon shade, but otherwise can be planted in the soil.

  Enclosed is a sample of my redbud tree. I have planted two dogwoods, two tulip poplars, a maple, and now a redbud. Each time, all of the trees have died. They will do really well for two weeks, then they begin to die from the top down. The leaves and buds will all turn black and die. I have dug the clay soil away and have filled in with bought soil. I’ve even put fertilizer and nothing helps. The drainage is good. I have a magnolia tree just a few feet away and it is doing great. Why will a tree not do well for no reason?

  There has to be a reason. Especially when so many different species are affected. Something has to be wrong with either the soil or the site. Have your soil tested. Take a sample (at least a pint of soil) from the area where nothing will grow. Take another sample from around the magnolia. Take these to your county extension office and have the soil tested. Then compare the results. Either too much fertilizer has been dumped in the soil, the pH is way off kilter or some other salt problem is the cause. Make sure the drainage is good. Dig a hole the same size you would if planting a tree. Then fill it up with water and keep filling it up until the water stands. Then time it to see how long it takes for the water to drain. If it still standing after a half day or more, drainage could be at fault. Hopefully, one or both of these tests will find the cause.

  I would like to know how to propagate red bud trees. They were so beautiful this year.

  Redbud trees should germinate easily from seed. You have two options, either direct sowing outside in the fall, or harvest your seeds, soak them in sulfuric acid for one hour, then put the seeds in a plastic bag filled with moist peat moss or potting soil, and keep them in your refrigerator for three months. Then pot them up and they should germinate. Softwood cuttings taken in the spring or early summer can also root.

  I planted a redbud tree in my yard a year ago in the fall. It was fine through the winter and spring, and then in the summer it began developing brown spots. No other damage appears anywhere on the tree. At the suggestion of a local nursery, I sprayed it in July with Malathion, but the spots appear to have gotten worse. Any ideas what it is or how I can treat it? Other than a mild case of lace bugs on my azaleas, no other problems are apparent in my yard.

  The spots are most likely caused by a disease organism, and the Malathion is an insecticide, so you wouldn’t have seen any control. It is also difficult to reverse the problem once it starts. Spray the tree with a dormant oil this winter, and watch closely in the spring. At the first sign of a leaf spot, spray with a general fungicide such as Daconil, Funginex or Kocide. Spray at weekly intervals for three sprays and see what happens. Hopefully, it was a one shot problem and you won’t see it again. If it does reoccur, you can take a sample to your local county extension office and send it to the diagnostic lab for evaluation.

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