Lol Ken I know better than to fertilize :) I know it doesn't look too bad everywhere else does it? I'm planning on having a warm El Niño winter this year! I'm just worried about it - I really like this tree and would probably get another one if this one gives it up.

It looks like it's barely holding on and plants have that capability to do but it may be alive one day and dead the next, Julie.

That bark is seriously telling a very bad story & there's no reason whatsoever you shouldn't try another one :)

Dax

Thanks Dax. Maybe I'll puts around with some cuttings for fun and look at replacing it next spring. Leaves seemed curled this summer, now I see why.

And do as you suggested... cut it back to the ground and see if it re-sprouts. After I posted I read that 'sometimes they do.'

Dax

Should I cut it back now or early spring? thanks!

I'm planning on having a warm El Niño winter this year! I'm just worried about it

==>> good luck with that plan.. ma nature is usually so helpful ... and agreeable to our plans ... lol ..

i seem to recall.. mine died back to the ground for its first two years ... but that recollection is hazy ...

frankly ... i dont understand why you want or need to be so proactive ...

this thing could stand there... just as it is for another 5 years.. or it could break tomorrow... did you get a new saw or something.. and just have to use it ..?? ... lol ...

again ... i would leave it at least until next spring ... see what happens ...

the key here ... will be that you have a very mature root mass ... and unless it dies to below ground.. like most trees or shrubs.. it will resprout ... and will probably amaze you what that big root mass can regrow in a season or two ...

if you insist.. go for it.. its yours .. do as you wish ...

ken

Next late winter while it's dormant but when noticeable warmer temperature swings have been occurring for a few weeks or if you see any spring bulb coming up. That is the ideal time.

Sorry Mr. Ken, old, old, friend. I'm about fixing something right as early as possible, and, it's an eyesore, big-time. Julie will spend a lot of time looking at what's wrong as much as what's right....I would be. Maybe not you, I do not know.

Dax

Ken not in a hurry, just don't want to nurse it along and prolong the end. It didn't do well last year and I blamed it on the winter. This year not so well either - no growth to speak of and rolled leaves, which is what made me start looking at it. I'm afraid even our upcoming mild winter :) will be hard on it. You probably can't see in my crummy pics, but the ants have nice little holes they are going in and out of and I'm pretty sure that's not good. Hoping it will respond to being cut back. Will be fun to see what happens.

Thanks for all your help!

"frankly ... i don't understand why you want or need to be so proactive ..."

Which is better...spending five years watching your tree die a slow anguishing death while worrying about how long it can hold on...or getting a five year head start on a great replacement and getting the enjoyment of watching it grow and thrive?

That looks like a canker at the base; the ants probably came in after the fact. Heptacodium is susceptible to a canker disease (don't know if the disease agent has been positively identified) which is normally not too serious (at least here in our region, but I've heard the disease can be serious farther south). Just about every year my Heptacodium develops minor cankers on some of the smaller limbs, but it's generally insignificant and I've never considered removing the whole tree. I would cut yours at ground level any time after leaf drop and dispose of it (preferably by burning) to minimize the chance of reinfection of the new growth. I would expect it to resprout and grow vigorously next year, hopefully canker-free.

My own Heptacodium (which is about 10 years old) has lost a few larger branches as a result of the last two harsh winters, but still has plenty of wood left (despite which it is a rather weedy-looking tree and not very attractive, even when in flower).

Fine to grow if you like it, but it's overhyped in my book.

*on the other hand, arbordave posted a very attractive fall photo of his tree in this thread:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/3427872/fall-color-2015-thread?n=64

rusty_blackhaw, I'd agree that they are generally "rather weedy-looking" and not particularly showy in flower. And they do require a fair amount of pruning to keep them looking decent. On the positive side, the flowers have a nice fragrance and attract lots of pollinators (including hummingbirds and monarch butterflies), the calyces are very colorful in October, the seeds are eaten by birds, and the bark offers winter interest. The plant in the fall color thread is 12 years old and about 18' high x 18' wide, and survived -29F last winter with only very minor dieback.

It does attract a ton of pollinators. It is covered with bees and butterflies the whole time it's in bloom. I'm hoping if I'm more careful with pruning to have a nicer tree form. I first saw this tree in a landscapers yard and he has it pruned to a nice open shape.

I cut mine back completely a few years ago to get back to a nicer form -and it's easily done in late winter- but the cankers will return. I would hold off on pruning until the end of the second year since pruning too much too soon will force too much growth and weight onto the remaining stems... and they will flop.

Mine is nice enough now but loses a branch or trunk here and there to cankers each year.

Katob how long did it take yours to get some size to it after you cut it back?

Thanks!

At the end of the first year it will have the size of a decent shrub, at the end of three I would guess it will be back to or larger than its current size. Like ken said there's already all that root mass in place, so it will make for rapid re-growth.

Thanks Katob. Wasn't sure how quick it would re start. And yes, the root mass should help, crossing my fingers for no return of the crud :)