We transplanted 5 mature white pines ( 20ft tall) in our back yard 4 yrs ago. The tree bases were 8 - 10". They were dug with a 80" tree spade from sandy soil and placed in medium clay soil with 8" of topsoil. Yard is gently sloped both east to west along the line of 5 trees and from south to north from house towards the tree line. Trees appear to be healthy but have never been as full as when they were first put in. One may be in decline. Following heavy rain periods, all the trees go through a short period where the needles in the lower third of the tree yellow. I feel that the clay soil beneath the sandy soil plug is holding water and over saturating the roots. We paid a ton to have them put in and I want to do everything possible to make them thrive. Would you suggest deep core aeration, liquid aeration with Aerify!, ph testing and treatment if necessary? Thanks

Greetings Dan,

Yes, the heavily compacted, high clay soils could certainly be contributing to the decline of your eastern white pine trees. Moreover, the removal of a significant portion of the tree's root system during transplanting has undoubtedly had an effect as well.

I would strongly urge you to either contact a local certified arborist for an on-site evaluation, or contact your local UI Extension office to see if they have a local horticulturist on staff who may be able to provide an on-site evaluation. Deep core aeration may be necessary if this perched water table effect is contributing to the tree's chlorotic colored foliage.

My advice, get a professional on-site to evaluate the multiple variables involved.