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billysunday

Young Dawn Redwoods wilting and discolored.

Wharf Rat
7 years ago

I've read these forums often for several years and have learned a great many things that have guided my first serious efforts at planting trees, but this is my first post. I'm hoping to again benefit from some of your experience and expertise as I confront some issues with three young Dawn Redwoods I recently planted.


I am in northern Ohio, zone 6. I planted three Dawn Redwoods in September 2014. At the time of planting they were about 18 inches high. The following Spring they leafed out beautifully. Over the course of the summer, two of them more than doubled in height and the third grew to over five feet. Toward mid-summer I noticed some of the leaves had gone from bright green to a more olive color, but otherwise the trees seemed vigorous.


This spring, they again began to break bud and leaf out nicely. We had a very mild February and March followed by a week of sudden frigid temps, but it seemed like the leaves continued to grow. Just this past week, however, most of the leaves on one of the trees started to wilt and dry up. Here's a photo:


Aside from a few stunted buds (due to the late frost?), the other two trees have not exhibited this wilting, but the leaves again turn an olive color as they mature. You can see this coloration in this photo:


The area in which they're planted does not have the best soil. It at the edge of an area that was created during the construction of a highway in the early 1980s. The soil is full of rocks (shale?) the that were dug up during the highway construction. It doesn't drain very quickly, but I had read that Dawn Redwoods don't mind a little extra water so I was hoping they'd take in that area. The area gets full sun throughout the day, and two crabapple trees planted in other parts of the same soil years ago have fared well.


I'm wondering if there's anything more I can do to keep these trees healthy.


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