Why did my trees wither?!

[IndiaHawker]

I can't post a picture, but they were planted like this:

xxxT
FFxx
FFxT

F=fire pit, x=gap, T=tree.

sorry if my diagram doesn't make sense, but yeah, I planted my trees so there was a space between them and the fire pit, and they withered! Decided i want bamboo there so I'm trying again with bamboo, but I'm not sure why they're withering.. I think I've read on here about people having similar problems and fiddling around and getting it to work, so maybe if it doesn't work I'll try demolishing my fire pit, planting the bamboo, and rebuilding it.. Anyone have any ideas what's wrong though? I'm wondering if it's something really stupid and obvious that I'm missing, any help is appreciated!

 

[kasane]

I can only guess that you need 2 spaces between a PWP and a tree :/
There also needs to be 2 spaces between 2 PWPs

That, or if you use cedar saplings on the southern part of your town, they won't grow

 

[budewarmin]

maybe it's a dead spot? a spot where nothing will grow even though it should? I heard about it, but I never had it so I can't speak from experience.
Is it a cedar tree in the lower part of your town? it won't grow then.
Is there too much shadow of other trees near it?
Can't think of more honestly..

 

[Swiftstream]

dead spot

 

[BluebellLight]

For the top tree it's not a dead spot.
You can't walk the whole way around the tree w/o running in the fire pit.

 

[IndiaHawker]

Thanks for the help everyone, i think i figured out the problem though.. I demolished my hammock last night, and i think the saplings were planted right next to it. I figured it would still work as the hammock wouldn't be there when the saplings started to grow, but obviously not!

bluebellLight - sorry the diagram is a bit misleading but i can walk the whole way around both trees

 

[Clover]

Glad you figured out what the problem was. Here are some additional information that I typed up before the forums went down, in case you're interested:

Spoiler

What's on the other side of the bamboos you planted? Are all the surrounding cells free?

xxx??
xxxT?
FFxx?
FFxT?
xxx??

Also I'm pretty sure (not 100%) that bamboos subscribes to the same "tree grid rule" as other trees. This means if you already have trees in the surrounding area, it might potentially create dead spots. Dead spots are not permanent and can be remedied (from experience), given the area has not yet reached the maximum number of trees allowed. The safest way to plant trees and bushes is to plant from one end to the other (or from center outward), one sapling per day. Try not to create a situation where a new sapling is planted between two other trees/saplings. You can check this post for more details: http://animal-xing-3ds.livejournal.com/126850.html (There was another article that I thought was clearer, but I lost the link to it.)

Example:

XXXXXXX
X1X2X5X
XXXXXXX
X3X4X7X
XXXXXXX
X6X8X9X
XXXXXXX

or

XXXXXXX
X1X2X3X
XXXXXXX
X4X5X6X
XXXXXXX
X7X8X9X
XXXXXXX

If you plan on planting in an offsetting grid or in a random pattern, you'd need to pay more attention to the planting sequence.