Dawn Redwood Stunted Growth

9 years ago

This is my first post to the forum I hope I am in the right place.
I live in Proctor Vermont. zn4 and
I have a Dawn Redwood that is about 5 years old.
Up until this spring it was growing fantasticly, full beautiful growth. But this year it has taken a nose dive. I have parts of the tree that seem to be doing ok, and other branches with hardly a bud on them. Usally by this time of the season
it has totaly filled out.I have included a photo to try to show this. Other photos are avaiable if needed. Any help will be appreciated..

Sorry about the sideways pic I will work on that.

Thank You

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Comments (11)

hairmetal4ever
9 years ago
In VT after this winter...I am thinking winter damage.

How cold did it get this winter?
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
hey... welcome ...

i had a DR ... hit by hard frost or freeze.. twice in one spring ...

it would leaf out ... then get zapped... leafed out again ... and got zapped again ...

it recovered.. but it looked sparse that year .. just like yours... any recollection of such this year for you ..???

this is one of the few conifers.. that have dormant buds along the branches... which means it can fill in over the years ...

we had a real bad winter in MI ... z4 at least.. in my normal z5 ... my plain green DR.. looks fine ...my jack frost.. looks a bit like yours ...

i am not going to do anything... but let them do their own thing .... they are well established TREES .... as is yours at 5 years ...

in addition.. spring was so late this .. my pines are not even fully budded out yet.. meaning summer is late this year... and if you are about the same... then this might fill out.. this year also ...

at 5 years in the ground.. there is not much you can do.. nor need be done ... i am not one to 'feed' trees .... and if its anywhere near a fert'd lawn.. its getting what it needs ...

ken
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basic, Your tree looks as healthy in the photo as mine did all last year, as long as I kept it watered during our drought. Mine broke dormancy nicely, early on this April, was shocked over a three day Easter period this year, with nights dipping down into the light freeze temp range. During that same time on the third day, the tree also endured a few hours of hard freeze. Since I had wrapped it over each night it did not freeze immediately, but after the warm-up it seemed to go dormant; eventually dropping is leaves. It did later releaf a little bit, but just never could do it completely. Now, even though there is still green under the bark, the new leaves are dead. From my early on experience with my tree, I would think that your tree should survive the summer heat if you water it properly. After seeing where botann's tree is planted and growing so well, I have concluded that the last 8 weeks of our constant rains is what has caused my tree to suffer so much that it is at risk of never recovering. The clay soil here simply does not drain fast enough, and I figure that my mound where I planted it was not raised high enough to prevent the roots from drowning and quite possibly rotting. Your photo appears to show that your land slopes, if ever so slightly, and that has given me a better idea of how to plan needed adjustments to my, newly arriving just this week, tree's planting bed. Today, I went to my favorite nursery and purchased some well draining potting soil they use especially for their potted trees. Hopefull my new tree will have developed and grown well enough by my repotting it whenever needed and by the time I want to plant it; in the newly planned bed, next spring. Especially if I wait to transplant it from the pot after our chance of late frosts, normally have passed. botann, wow it must feel good to share the beauty resulting from of all your hard laboring, over tha last almost 3 decades, with others; not only those presently in your life, but also with the world through your albums. Thanks.
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"Dawn Redwoods are slow to establish themselves. Once the root system gets established, usually after 3 or 4 years, the growth rate picks up. Between year 6 through 15 the rate of growth should be peaking around 3 to 5 ft per year given optimum conditions. Full sun and lots of water at all stages of growth from seedling on. Metasequoia will fight neighboring trees for water and sun and at some point will begin to dominate their neighbors." I disagree with this statement to a point. When I have put DR in looser soils like my yard or even gasp, in pots they do fairly well. The ones I have planted in new subdivision compacted dirt w/o top soil or pots where the soil became compacted have died or grown slowly. Just a theory still. My experience is limited to four 2' to 3' seedlings and dozens of freshly germinated seeds. In my yard when mine was a new arbor day tree I watered 1/2 gallon every three days w/o rain the 1st year. Then 1 gallon every four days w/o rain the next. I used my wife's indoor watering can so the water came out slowly and I DID NOT just pour the water in at the base of my tree but rather in a circle at the edge of the mulch around it to encourage the roots to grow out. For the last 2 or 3 years I've probably only hit it with the sprinkler MAYBE 3 times a summer.
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Argh. No way to edit posts, is there? Anyway, I took it up for a bit tonight to check out the roots. It was pretty root bound, but most of the roots were either thick, spongy, and pliable, or fibrous. I'd actually say the majority were fibrous. There were some thicker, woodier roots, but not all that many, and only a few had started wrapping around the pot from what I could tell. Some were at oddish angles, but growing mostly normally. As for the ones that were wrapping, I cut those back to where it looked like they were straigtening out, which wasn't too far. Other than that, I just used the guidelines about making one-inch cuts down the side of the rootball, then tried to shake stuff loose a bit. Don't know how much it'll help or hurt, really. From what I could tell, it didn't look like there were any thick, wrapping roots growing near the trunk, in any case.
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It's about time GW has zones appearing after our names. I requested they add that as well as soil type a few years back but never heard back from them. Thanks coniflora. For my behalf I had either forgotten a grafted plant kept characteristics (probably slim margins in all cases though, I would have to think) ..easier. Anyway, that's maybe my favorite thing in the world to do. Grafting that is. Dax P.s. And Noki, you pick up the pace real quickly. Just like becoming a BMX racer! And other times, you do have to work with the wood until you're satisfied everything is a go. Some grafts take me 5 minutes each. Those darn ones with the tiny wood are difficult to hold onto as well and that's on top of just the finicky ones in general. Then there's the ones where your blade cuts right through the entire understock! that one tees me off. Then there's the a to the b to c to the d .... you're always adjusting to occomodate. It's a lot of common sense technique-wise it becomes apparent rather fast. And there are no rules if you would please allow me to say when you understand what it's going to take to get those two wounds to ajoin.
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mlmuir
Original Author
9 years ago
...I am thinking winter damage.
How cold did it get this winter?

weeks of below freezing with several consecutive days of 0 or below. Develpoed a list also.
mlmuir
Original Author
9 years ago
Ken,

Ken

Thanks for the info

I am pretty sure we didn't have a freeze after it started to bud out.
. One other thing I have noticed. It has a list. toward the south side of the tree (See Pic)
I cant figure out what caused this.

Will this self correct? or will it, heaven forbid need Guy wires?

Michael
Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
9 years ago
Winter damage!

As for the lean, if the roots are well anchored, the tree will grow vertically from that point on but the original lean will remain. It looks like it was planted too deep...there should be a noticeable trunk flare at the soil line by now. That was likely the cause of the initial lean (poor root anchoring) and may also indicate poor root form (caused by being root bound at the nursery).
ginkgonut
9 years ago
Mine started the spring out very sparse due to winter damage. With the heat it is putting out a lot of new growth and dormant buds are breaking under the dead buds.
lou_spicewood_tx
9 years ago
My Montezuma cypress was looking pretty sparse after late hard freeze in Texas. Once weather got warm, it rapidly filled in but it did look bad for a few weeks...
mlmuir
Original Author
9 years ago
Folks,
Thanks for the info.
Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
9 years ago
Mimuir, I also side with winter damage. I am a bit my cynical than the others though after reading Whaas's stories and watching this winter here.

Magnolia grandiflora, however you soell southern magnolia, survives here but as we are on the northern limits of its survival zones you just do not get the estate dominating trees you get in the old south. Same with the crepe myrtles.

I think your metasequoia is a tough tree and I bet it survives. If you are in zone 4 there are going to be winters that give it a cool Alpine look.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
it is not leaning... it WAS LEANING...

its already corrected itself.. and has grown straight for many years ...

there is nothing to do.. but observe it ... thru the decades ..

lawn looks nice a green... if you fert.. it will steal anything it needs ...

if you weed and feed ... i would put a 6 to 8 foot bed of mulch around the bottom ... and try to avoid such near the plant ...

welcome to the weirder the better club.. who needs every tree to be perfectly straight??? .. no character.. lol

ken
hairmetal4ever
9 years ago
Has your tree started looking any better?

Dawn Redwood Stunted Growth

Comments (11)

hairmetal4ever

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Dawn Redwood Stunted Growth

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