How to care for Pom Pom trees
17. Mar, 2010 
7 Comments
Hi Dee, How do I care for my new Pom Pom trees? (They are turning brown. Also, are they hearty enough to survive our winters? If so, how deep should I plant them and in what soil type? Thank you so much!
Dear Kristie,
Your pom pom trees are probably a pine variety, most likely scotch pine. Most pines are hardy to zone 3 or 4. Apple Valley is considered zone 4. The tag that came with your trees should have planting and care instructions on it, as well as the variety of tree. Follow the instructions on the tag. For most trees and shrubs you want to plant them in well-drained soil,in a hole that is dug twice as large as the root ball of the tree. Back fill around the tree with a mixture of soil and compost. Make sure your new trees are getting plenty of water. When you plant them water thoroughly, and continue watering through the first season. Most trees, shrubs and perennials need at least one inch of water each week. The lawn sprinkler will not provide enough water for newly planted trees and shrubs. It is best to water once or twice a week, soaking the ground around the tree until water pools near the surface. If you are planting in clay soil it is important that the soil around your new trees is amended to improve drainage. Enjoy your new trees and thanks for the question.
Dee
I have a pom pom juniper tree that I planted last season, it survivied the winter but now some of the entire bushes are turning brown and dying please help me and tell me what I can do, I don’t want to loose my plant. I live in Edmonton, Alberta Canada
It sounds as if your ornamental evergreen has suffered form a winter inujury; the burning or browing of evergreen foliage due to excessive moisture loss during the winter.
Flucations in temperature, which cause alternate freezing and thawing, and the excessive loss of moisture, are the primary causes of winter injury or winterkill in evergreen trees.
Evergreens continue to transpire throughout the winter although the ground may be frozen and water unavailable from the soil. For survival, the tree resorted to tapping living tissue to replenish the moisture.
Evergreens planted in windy areas with intense southern and western sun exposure, which have not been sufficiently watered in the fall, are susceptible to winter injuries and sun and wind damage increase transpiration.
Watering your tree once a week until the ground freezes, and three feedings of a high nitrogen fertizer such as a 30-10-10 once in May, again in June and the last feeding the first week of July, will help to prepare it for this winter.
Some evergreens that suffer from winter injury may be to far damaged to save. If you choose to replace the tree, plant a new one next spring. Water it weekly, do not feed it, you may mix some bone meal or other organic fertilizer in the soil when it is planted, and wrap the tree with burlap in the fall to protect it from the sun and wind. The next spring, feed it with a 30-10-10 fertilizer three times and continue the watering.
We bought a pom pom this spring and the nursery planted it. Now it is very brown. We’ve been watering it every other day. Could we have overwatered it?
I have just read your Q&A section and found the answers too alot of questions I had except one. How do I continue to shape my scotch pines into individual pom poms? Thank you
The trick to shaping any of the topiaries is to prune new growth as it appears. That means the first growth in the Spring should be pruned off. In the case of pines it would be the new candles that appear as new spring growth begins to show. I would also watch out for sawfly larvae in May and June. Those nasty little creatures have been common the last few years. Hopefully the cycle of their population will decline but it is worth keeping a good watch out for them. They can be killed with a good spray insecticide. Sevin is a very effective one.
How tall do these pom pom scotch pines grow and how long does it take to reach mature height? How wide? The tree would only get full sun in the afternoon – would that be enough sun to risk buying one?
Hello Tom,
Your topiary is already at the height it was pruned to be. Pom Pom topiary scoth pines are pruned each year to keep their form and shape. This was done as the young tree grew to create what it is today. Each spring as the new growth, called candles, appears prune to maintain the pom poms. As far as sun goes you should be fine as long as your tree gets 6 hours daily. All pines need good drainage so make sure your site will provide that.