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Landscape Design Trees

Dawn Redwood Canopy Height

last year

Planted this dawn redwood 4 years ago and it’s been great. Right now the canopy starts about 2-3’ from the ground. Every year I’ve pruned the lower branches to raise the canopy but not sure what to do this year. What is ideal? How far from the ground should the canopy start?

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Comments (9)

Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
last year

With these it is kinda up to you. I left the lower branches on this one and got a neat lower trunk at the exchange of having to get the trimmer out a dozen or so times a year.
louislinus
Original Author
last year
Yours looks great!
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you know what the moral of this story is....' there is really never any hurry to deal with a tree ... think about it.. watch it ... but you can always come back later and take care of it ... but you cant staple them back on.. if you make a bad decision ... and really .. 90% of the time.. the tree can take care of itself .... my only goal.. BESIDES DAMAGE REPAIR ... is lifting the canopy high enough that i can walk under them.. w/o having my hat or glasses knocked off .... there is no tree ... that can not.. sort itself out.. and re-establish a leader ... ken
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I put alil bit of this fertilizer on the top of the dirt. And i gave it some miracle-gro the other day. ===>>> does that mean you have fertilized it twice ... no more fert... that is getting close to loving it to death .... what is the potting media... i cant tell from the blurry pic .. i fear too much peat .. and too much water ... and i suggest.. based on the picture.. that you unstrap it from the hood of the car ... it is not a hood ornament .. lol ... they are fully winter hardy in my z5 ... and should otherwise be so in your zone ... the issue is the media going into late fall .. how wet it is in winter ... and keeping it fully dormant all winter long .... a detached structure.. would be better than an attached garage ... as i swear my attached garage is z7 or 8 in winter .... you do not want it coming out of dormancy.. a month or two early ... get it dormant.. keep it dormant ... ken
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louislinus
Original Author
last year
Here’s another pic.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
its your tree.. and your saw.. and your whim ... all my trees were pruned up high enough.. that i could mow on the garden tractor at speed ...

when you have a goal.. YOUR goal.. its not hard to accomplish such with a goal ...

there is no tree bible that states some certain height is proper or perfect ..

ken
Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
last year
last modified: last year
There are four other residental metasequoias I drive by locally and a slew of taxodium.

They are pruned up what, waist to torso high?

I leave the lower branches on my other trees I prune up, but more slowly than most. They seem to deter deer slightly.
krnuttle
12 months ago
I agree with ken . Unless you like trim mowing either with a push mower or weed eater, ALL trees and bushes should be trimmed so that you can EASILY mow under and around them. Unless you have a 200 year old oak with a branch that droops to the ground
L Clark (zone 4 WY)
12 months ago
To me spruces look much better with branches all the way to the ground. I know nothing about dawn redwoods though.
bengz6westmd
12 months ago
I had to limb mine up more after this pic to keep open access to the spring house. Even limbed up a bit, the lowest branch away from the building is low enough that you can touch the foliage if you reach up.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 months ago
imo... the only reason to keep tree low .. is to hide that buttwipe neighbor you dont want to see for the rest of your life.. lol ..

that said.. i dont prune up conifers.. that self mulch and kill all that tries to grow under them... like water hog pines that suck up all the water under them.. when they are 20 or 30 feet tall ... same with spruce.. etc ..

in teh pic above.. its a shame bengs tree is 20 feet to close to the structure .... and 20 feet too close to the utility lines.. who placed that tree .???

another reason to prune up.. is to see the garden or plants behind.. that you want to also see from the beer drinking throne on the patio ... or deck

ken

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