Hello,

I got a little Cryptomeria japonica 'Rasen' a few months (I have such a weakness for curly foliage). I've had some sunburn problems with Cryptomeria so I decided to start it off underneath the shrub it is supposed to replace (an ugly old privet) so that it could get some shelter from the sun and wind. Of course, I cut back a bunch of the privet branches so that it would get (hopefully) enough sunlight. I've been very careful about keeping it watered...between the rain and my watering, it gets water about twice a week. Now I'm worried that it got overwatered. The main trunk has turned bright yellow on the bottom 2/3rds of the plant. Sorry the photo is so blurry, but hopefully it will give you an idea:

I'm not sure if you can tell, but it's not uniformly yellow...it looks almost striped. This color change happened within the last day; we had rain last night (0.8" according to my rain gauge). Worried it wasn't draining properly, I pulled it out of the ground this evening. The soil was moist, since it rained last night, but there was no puddle or anything like that.

I'm still pretty new with conifers (been growing them for only two years), so I'm wondering if somebody with more experience can recognize the problem. Does it looks like too much water? A fungus or disease? Normal?

If it matters, I'm in a Maryland suburb of Washington, DC. Clayish soil, but not too bad.

I really appreciate any input. Thanks.