Too late to grow a dawn redwood?
BoskoSLO
9 years ago
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Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Ogon Dawn Redwood 'Gold Rush'
Comments (2)I just checked the info on the Greenwood nursery site from where I purchased the tree. They claim it was grown in a 3 gallon size pot to its 4-5 foot size, and they had reduced the soil around the rootball to make it less heavy for shipping. They also say it grows well in any wet soil, even to the point of them suggesting for customers to plant it by a stream. If the information they provide is correct then the spring rains should not be causing my tree any problems. Streams can often overflow much deeper than the amount of standing water I have seen, after our heavy rain fall events, around the planting area where my tree is planted. So what could be causing my currently 5' 5" tall single trunked tree to be so sluggish in its attempt to fully recover?...See MoreMetasequoia / Dawn Redwood
Comments (6)First thing to do is to be sure whether the "old" tree is dead - try scratching lightly on the bark on the branches. If there is a green layer under the bark - the cambium layer - then the branch is alive, just leafless (needle-less?). You can wait, and see what happens, for a bit longer, since the tree may still leaf out. It also may not, since even though the branches are now alive, they may be in decline. If the cambium is brown or grey as you get out to the ends of branches, that's not necessarily the kiss of death, but it's also not really good. If it looks like the freeze damaged the very ends of branches, but the rest of the branch is recovering, the "old" tree may well come back. The die-back may have been severe enough, maybe, that the whole of a branch, and maybe the tree, will die back slowly, until all gone. It may be that I am being overly pessimistic, and it will recover. If you want to wait, you can either cut off the new shoot or let it continue to grow, in case you might need it as a replacement. If you are sure the tips of branches are dead, you can carefully prune them off. I think I would wait until you are SURE what's dead or not, until you get new growth showing, and then trim off the dead ends - it's easier to tell how far is enough, too much or not enough. You can also not wait, and decide that whether the "old" tree comes back or not, you don't WANT the wait. That being the case, you can cut off the "old" tree at about ground level - as close to the new shoot as possible, without damaging it - and let the new shoot become the tree. Since it has - hopefully - a good root system already in place, it should grow pretty fast into a new tree. If it looks like the branch structure of the "old" tree was damaged by the freeze, and it won't be especially atttractive if it does live and leaf out, this option may, in fact, be the best one. Hope you are less confused now, and can decide on something!...See MoreOgon Dawn redwood 'Gold Rush' growth rate
Comments (19)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....See MoreDawn Redwood not growing?
Comments (10)I have noticed the growth to be a little wild and uneven the first year. Next year when it starts growing again, it should have a nice straight leader. I will try and take some pictures of the ones I started this year in the next day or two....See Morecoachjohnsonlp
9 years agoscotjute Z8
9 years agoBoskoSLO
9 years agoToronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
9 years agohairmetal4ever
9 years agoBoskoSLO
9 years agoToronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
9 years agoBoskoSLO
9 years agoNancy Norton
5 years agoplantkiller_il_5
5 years ago
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