# Is my lemon tree is dying?



## Rookie owner (Feb 23, 2008)

I live in the desert in Nevada and have recently planted a lemon tree in my backyard ( as seen in picture )
As you can see the top half of my tree is drying out and burning from the sun. This picture was taken at 9:30am and doesn't get a lot of shade like we hoped.:furious: I water it every other day and the heat right now in the summer can reach up to around 120 degrees.
We planted the tree a few feet down and filled the hole with a big bag of mulch.

A employee at home depot recommended using plant covering material called a "planket" ( http://www.theplanket.com/ ) but when we put that on it the next day it just seemed to knock off all the dry areas and even accelerate the destruction process.
We hesitate putting up an elaborate shading system because of high winds in the area which regularly test the weaker structures of the desert but I feel that something in that area may be the only way to go.


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## SECO Landscapes (Jul 5, 2008)

Rookie owner said:


> We planted the tree a few feet down and filled the hole with a big bag of mulch.


Say more about that... " a few feet down" ? 

Did you really dig an extra-deep hole and sink it down below grade? I hope I'm misunderstanding you! The top of the rootball (when you took it out of the nursery container) needs to be level with the surrounding soil level. 

Summertime is a tough time to plant - keeping drying winds & heat off the plant with a windscreen/shade will help increase chances of success when you plant in high heat. 

Digging an extra-wide hole is recommended, and backfill with native soil, only lightly amended with organic material.


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## Rookie owner (Feb 23, 2008)

Oh yeah , we planted about as you said. So you think maybe shade from the west side where the afternoon sun hits it at it's hottest or do you have any better ideas?
Sure appreciate your help & input, thanks!


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## SECO Landscapes (Jul 5, 2008)

If you planted the tree too deep, then that's your problem, not the location. There are a jillion resources on how to plant a tree correctly (google it) - too deep is a common mistake.

Can't say where in your yard would be the best location without seeing it or looking at photos.


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