There is no doubt that losing a scrub or tree is a very frustrating moment for every gardener and this is especially true if the plant was costly or if there is a sentimental attachment to the tree or shrub. If this has happened to you then the first thing you to have to do is find out how you can tell whether the tree/shrub is dead or not?

This may sound like an odd question, but there are situations in which they look like they are dead, but they are actually alive. The simplest way to check their condition is to use your nail or a simple penknife to scratch the bark a little bit. If the stem is green then they are still good. A stem that’s brown indicates death. You should perform this procedure on the shoots and close to the roots.

Tree-Surgeon

It is very important to understand that there are cases in which even expert gardeners witness the death of their new plants so don’t be too harsh on yourself if this happens to you! However, in most cases, if you take good care of them, they should grow and make progress. Let’s take a quick look at plants in the ground and plants in containers and see why they sometimes fail to grow.

The first category usually fails to grow due to improper moisture in the soil and watering. The soil can be either too dry or too wet. In addition, sometimes people plant their trees and scrubs too deep in the ground and the stem base simply rots. In addition, certain animals like rabbits and rodents can damage the plants.

When it comes to plants in containers, besides the aforementioned problems they can also suffer from frosted roots or from the use of inadequate (too large) containers.

For more advice about looking after your plants, please contact Gardenbusters now.

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