Dawn Redwood in mid-late Autumn.
41 North (Zone 7a/b, NE, coastal)
5 months ago
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alley_cat_gw_7b
5 months agobengz6westmd
5 months agolast modified: 5 months agoRelated Discussions
Dual Leader Dawn Redwood?
Comments (63)Hi, Really enjoyed this thread!! I was wondering if anyone here could advise me with another young DR. As you can see here, at the top of my tree, the only true "leader", to the far left here, which dwarfs the other possibilities in both girth and height, is jutting off to the side at a substantial angle. It is growing a ton at its very top and is the tallest part of the tree by over a foot. My concern is how much of an angle it is growing at, & that it is not in the true center of the tree. (The bamboo stake is aligned to the center). (There is a lot of shade in the area where this is planted, though the tree catches some sun). Here you can see more of the whole picture...the angle in question is even more pronounced that comes through in the image. Should I just stake that thick leader to straighten it up? Would anyone recommend pruning something you can see in the first image? Should I just leave it alone? Thanks in advance for any thoughts!...See MoreDawn Redwood Damage--Heat Related??
Comments (18)My personal thought is that North Texas is too extreme for the temperament of this tree. If you look at areas of the US where the oldest and tallest specimens are established, they tend to have relatively high annual precipitation (over 40 inches) and moderate heat in summer (which comes with humidity and decent rainfall). I know they have quite a range in the East from Nova Scotia to North Florida. They like moist to wet soils in fact. May was too late to plant it in North Texas; too late to plant it in New England for that matter. I do think that it will come back next spring but am not sure of the long term success of this species in your area. I know you said that even establish trees were suffering, so that is a sign. What about Bald Cypress (Taxodium)? Are they doing any better? BTW, there is an evergreen species of Taxodium from Mexico that should offer better drought tolerance. Maybe someone will chime in regarding the Mexican species and success in your area. I went back to read my original posting. I recall at the time, the new leaves were just emerging and not hardened off when a premature early April heatwave struck (with wind). That tree has long since been replaced, and it amazes me how big the replacement is (planted after the demise of the one in 2010)! The earlier one was one of those golden yellow varieties, nice, but I get the idea that the regular species is more robust and faster. Good luck!...See MoreDawn Redwood
Comments (28)Dawn redwoods are easy to grow from cuttings. Or pick one up at your nursery in the Bonsai section in 2" pot. I have grown DR and Bald Cypess, Pond cypress side by side in pots; to see which would grow the fastest. Starting with ~14" plants in 5gal containers, moving to 20gal eventually. It was almost a tie at the end of the season. The plants all reached 7-8ft in one season here in California (east bay side of San Francisco Bay). Or Fremont and Union City to be more exact, zone 9. Two of the trees currently reside in my back yard and now after 16 years are about 45ft tall. Wonderful trees! (Constant moisture, nutrients and Microrhizia) for test. Black plastic Pots in almost all day sun sitting on concrete patio for heat sink. Our weather here rarely reaches the 90s in the summer though. Extremely rare the 100s....See MoreYoung Dawn Redwoods wilting and discolored.
Comments (9)I am betting it is cold damage. North American climates tend to be much more unstable (compared to the "temperate" Asian counterpart of this tree's native home). Dawn Redwoods are prone to this type of damage in much of North America where premature, early season heat causes leafing out followed by hard frosts. This is less of an issue in eastern coastal areas (from Maine to NJ and points south), where a still cold ocean delays the budding until Spring is really sprung. P.S., I have also seen damage on this species locally from premature Spring heat (April temps in the 90's with wind). They are generally hardy trees but don't like these crazy extremes within seasons, so, in North America some of the best specimens are exhibited in areas where more extreme temperatures contrasts are mitigated (proximity to seacoasts helps in this case)....See Moretsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
5 months agoBillMN-z-2-3-4
5 months agodavidrt28 (zone 7)
5 months ago41 North (Zone 7a/b, NE, coastal)
5 months ago
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