Sorry, I couldn't get the photo button to work to upload photo

try pix again ...

one hour of sun is not enough for a full sun plant ...

ken

That is what I was suspecting. I was thinking about transplanting it this Fall to a place with more sun. At first I thought our hot summer sun here would compensate for having the Black dragon in partial shade.

Partial shade is 6 hours. Full sun is 7+ hours. Need to move while dormant.

Poor golfer, are you in the mid south, perhaps?

You can probably get away with 4-5 hours of direct sun for this plant. It can thrive in part sun. Afternoon shade would be best.

I live an hour outside of Sacramento,Ca. which has very hot & dry summers. The afternoon sun is brutal here even for plants that say they like 'full sun'. I guess I tried to overprotect this black dragon.

these plants turn bronzy in the winter

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the reason i wanted a pic.. is because browning this early ... could be the road to death .. rather than what you are calling winter bronze ....

if its significantly changing color .... it might not be worth the effort to move it ...

shade never really kills things.. they just dont perform to expectation ... like slower growth ... off color .. e.g. yellow plants tending toward green... etc ... but it should not be trending toward brown ...

really need a pic.. wish you could figure it out ...

ken

Poorgolfer - here in CA (I'm in Sonoma County) a lot of plants that require full sun do better with a bit of afternoon shade. Even roses. However you may have just overdone it on the shade. Remember, though, that Cryptomeria come from Japan, which has very humid summers, so the issue is not the sun per se but the incredibly dry summer air that we have. If you want to determine if your bronze color is an indication of near-death, look on the underside of the needles, Even in winter when they are deep bronzy overall, they are green underneath. You should see green. I have had mixed results with Cryptomeria - some of mine are doing absolutely fine and others have struggled. They are a plant that really benefits from overhead watering and I use drip almost exclusively, which is part of the problem.

I also have a drip system on my Black dragon (two times per week for 40 minutes). I have read that they like humidity so I have been spritzing it with water every day that is over 90 degrees. I have been evaluating other sites in the yard for a future move this Fall to a sunnier site but not full sun all day. It does have some green on it but overall it has the bronzy look.

i never water the leaves of a plant ....

and why never any pic???

if it only has 'some green'.. its probably nearly dead ... turning bronze does not mean all brown ... its a slight bronze discoloration over green ..

ken

Ken you live in a summer-humid area, like Japan (where Cryptomeria come from). Our ambient humidity here in summer can be in the mid-teens. Watering overhead and wetting needles can make a big difference. Golfer did you look at the undersides of the branches?

good enough sara ... i will never argue with you ...

but it still shouldnt be bronzing in fall ... instead of winter.. i think its dying..

especially based on the pic provided ..

are yours bronzing now .. sara??

ken

No mine are not - they are all still green. That's why I asked about the underside of the leaf. If the underside is green, it's alive and just having a fit of some kind. If the undersides are brown, I think it's toast.

I have finally uploaded two photos of the Black Dragon to Photo Bucket. Crytomeria 'Back Dragon' What does everyone think? Dead or alive? I think I'm still planning on transplanting it to a sunnier spot in October.

Why use photobucket? Photobucket is a crappy hosting service. You can make your photos public on google drive and shutterfly, which aren't loaded down with ads. You can also upload here on gardenweb.

Poorgolfer I am sorry to have to be the one to tell you that it is dead. As in doornail. Best guess is that it dried out - they are from a summer humid climate and need sufficient water to get established (as do most conifers and other woody plants). Even once established it appreciates some overhead water from time to time. This is not 'bronze', which is a deeper, purplish hue. This is dried out and has almost no color at all. :-(

Thanks for the info. This plant has looked this way since last winter( I planted it last Fall). I was expecting it to green up this past spring but it never did. I guess it died over the winter even though it we had 40 inches of rain this past winter in the Sacramento area. I posted the photo on Photobucket on someone's suggestion I found help area. This plant was certainly good looking at the Green Acres nursery- a nice deep dark green. I tried to use this photo button below to upload the picture directly to the gardenweb but it didn't work. I'm not sure what I did wrong. I had my husband try this photo button too but no success. Thanks for the info about shutterfly.

No worries about Photobucket - use whatever you want. Your upload worked just fine. Don't give up on conifers - you might do better with Cedrus - either C. atlantica or C. deodara) or junipers or various cypress. You also will be able to grow any number of pines. Best bet is to look up where the species originated, and those that are accustomed to hot, dry summers (or extreme conditions, such as mugo pines) tend to work very well. If you are interested in conifers for your area I can get you more info.

The reason I don't like photobucket is that it is full of bs. Other photo hosting/sharing sites exist without photobucket's problems (and for free as well).

Others like Photobucket. So be it.

I did plant three C. deodora aurea in a sunny spot on front yard slope a year ago and all three are doing well. I also have a large Deodora that was here when I bought the house. I didn't think there was enough sun for the dwarf deodora in the side yard so I tried the Black dragon. You're right the deodora do love the hot dry summers we have here. The side yard has some oak trees in it hence the reason I have only 2-3 hrs of afternoon sun in that area. I have neighbors who have junk piled right up to the side yard so I was looking for something to block the view into their yard but not get too large. We are not allowed to have fences in our neighborhood due to the area being a wildlife preserve. I also have many deer that cross our property every day. The neighbors have Oleander shrubs on their side of the property but because of the shade they are very scraggly looking and I can see straight through to their yard. I was looking at Osmanthus delavayi shrub to put in place of the black dragon. It seems most of the conifers need full sun. The sweet olive shrub is said to grow in anything from full sun to full shade. My only worry is it might get too leggy in shade.

Osmanthus heterophylla might work better. It gets bigger, can grow in both sun and shade and there are some cultivars as well. The flowers smell heavenly - they are blooming right now. I have a big hedge of this and it can be left alone, hedged, or pruned as you wish. Take a look.