I am pretty new with the gardening and I have a Fuyu and an Izu planted this spring. The Fuyu started to leaf out about a month ago but all of its few leaves dried out completely after a few days. The Izu has been a bare stick with not even a single bud getting any bigger. I guess the threshold for the number of heat units passed a long time ago here in NC, where we have had 90+ degrees pretty much every day for the last couple of months. Both trees still have green tissue under the bark, and *both* have just started to leaf out *from the rootstock*. I read that all of those leaves should be removed. Is there any other recommendation anyone can give? What could happen with the Fuyu that it has lost all the new leaves and is there still any hope in it? My other new trees seem to feel happy with the same watering schedule etc.

what he said.. but its also all the 'cultural' variables ... sun is in decline .. so its cooler and less intense .. and colder at night .. tree roots do not need warm soil ... [and i am not talking about my frozen earth z5, since you dont live there] ... and with lower daytime heat.. and the declination of the sun.. moisture can be retained longer and deeper in the soil .. since the sun isnt as hot nor blistering ... and... deciduous trees dont need to try to hang onto the leaves in an active growth phase with the total root interruption which planting can inflict .... yet grow roots once they get going though the top is dormant ... and with evergreen types.. the leaves are not dealing with the hot sun.. etc ... so there is no real downside.. to planting in fall or early spring ... which i call.. 6 to 8 weeks prior to the real heat of summer ... i also like to say.. that planting in fall gives you two 'cool' seasons to get the roots working ... as compared to planting in spring.. and hoping it can get its act together before summer ... so ... its what you said.. plus what he said.. plus what i added ... which all adds up to what i call .. PROPER PLANTING TIME ... never forget.. just because you buy it.. that does not mean its the proper planting time.. and my success went way up.. when i realized that if i buy things in summer.. that i 'hold' the potted plant .. until proper planting time in fall ... [or mail ordered in very early spring] good logic grasshopper.. now lets get back to some kung foo ... [wow.. that obscure.. lol] ken

This seems like a silly debate... it's a fact that always remains if the plant tissue completely dessicates and becomes bone-dry inside and out, it dies; this is true for any plant. It's also true for most plants that if it becomes too wet and moisture pools on the surface or the water causes the stem/roots to lose contact with air, it rots. And in the meantime, plants are variously adapted to maintain a mostly-constant water content inside themselves despite the variance in surrounding moisture. So a number of different methods will work for maintaining the appropriate amount of moisture inside the fleshy stem, also depending on your particular climate and the environment in which they are stored. So the big question is, how much humidity is in the air in your climate and specifically, in the location where you are storing the plants. In very dry climates, soaking a dormant stem, bulb, root or tuber in water periodically may replenish lost moisture. In very humid climates, soaking it in water may very will kill the plant tissue with mold if the water does not evaporate or if the tissues can't get oxygen, but in those climates it is unnecessary to soak the plants because water loss is very slow. I would suggest in this case you try the same methods you use storing plants like cannas and dahlias. You can completely control the environment by burying it in a pile of barely-moistened peat moss - just moist enough that the peat does not turn to dust if you blow on it, but not any more - in an OPEN grocery bag and setting that in a closed cardboard box, then putting it in a cool (but not freezing) garage. Then no matter what happens to your air humidity, the peat only very slowly loses moisture through the winter.

I have been experimenting with dormant cuttings this winter, with mixed success. Out of boredom in early January, I decided to take whatever promising cuttings I could from the garden and see what happened. 50/50 mix of perlite and promix, some cuttings in my milk carton/soda bottle set-up, some in 6-packs in plastic storage boxes, under lights in my unheated basement. I was assessing things earlier this week. Sally Holmes, Evangeline, and Mme Plantier struck roots in the storage box. About 1/3 of the other varieties croaked. Others are green, so there's still hope. In the bottles, some of the cuttings Moonlight, Prosperity, and Carnation are showing roots. So are Blaze, a found rambler (probably Spectabilis), and a few others that I can't remember right now (and I can't check on because I have a cat asleep on my lap.) I have been fighting an outbreak of aphids in the winter cuttings that I don't have on the ones I stuck earlier in the year. I give them a bath in Safer soap solution every few days. I think the honeydew from the aphids is fostering mold that may be reducing my rooting success. Or it could just be that the winter cuttings of certain varieties just aren't programmed to grow roots well. It's a learning process, and I'm having a ball with it. On a completely different note, the cuttings you sent this fall are fabulous. Out of 16, 11 have great roots and are breaking new growth. Nick, if you're soliciting garden slaves, count me in. I'm available during the week, and I'd LOVE to give you a hand with anything, whenever you need it. I have rosy things the next 3 weekends (Charlotte, Lynchburg, and Staunton), but I'm available after that, or most times during the week. Connie