Thanks michaelg. Hmm. We did not get that low a low though we did have some frost warnings for tender plants on several overnights, I thought. Some of the bare roots were certainly healthier than others, though a couple that I thought had what appeared to be more cane damage than others seem to be doing better now. The tips do have/had a browning, like the last most tip of leaf growth died. I can't say the growth looked wilted though. I thought I was watering sufficiently and our rainfall was pretty good. Maybe it was insect damage. I think I will try and take some pictures and post here later on. I will leave them as is and not trim back any of the leaves. Hopefully they are working on deep roots.

When I just had one tree, all I had were branches unless I wanted to cut the top off of the one tree I had. Now it's no problem getting a vertical sprout. Had I known then what I know now I would have taken the top off and let new sprouts grow for cuttings. At first I wasn't even sure I could get starts to root. I built a cutting bed facing north with bottom heat and overhead misting on a timer. It worked wonders on all sorts of trees and shrubs. I even used it for germinating seeds. Cunninghamias do have a problem with branchlets that die and hang on for awhile before dropping. They break off easy in a wind or a light touch, and then fall all over around the tree. This can be annoying for the tidy gardener. I just throw them back towards the trunk and let them be and treat it as a groundcover. It helps to surround the tree at some distance to hide the brown mess, or keep the tree fully furnished to the ground enabling a hiding place for the branchlets. In my large garden the problem is mostly lost in the shuffle and I don't let it bother me too much. I don't have any close to the house where I have to pay attention to that much detail, and fortunately I'm not wound up very tight. ;-) Que sera, sera. Mike This post was edited by mikebotann on Wed, Sep 24, 14 at 12:00

I have bella cuttings I am starting for a friend right now, and of the four two have new growth. They were started on the fifth, and I noticed the new growth less than a week after taking the cuttings. I am not knowledgeable enough to say whether this is common, but it is definitely happening on my windowsill right now!

TG... I got three of those special hybrids from Carol this summer and the P.O. smashed the heck out of the box. I was sure they wouldn't recover, but they all bounced back and are ready to go in spring! I'm always impressed with the toughness of these plants!! Denise in Omaha