Oh no! I just purchased a Cham Lawsoniana 'azurea' (tree novice that I am) in Portland, Or. The tag calls it a Port Orford Cedar, as well. Can anyone tell me about this tree? I chose it for size and color, and trusted the nursery to be selling me something that wouldn't die on me. Is it also subject to root rot? It would probably be planted far away from roads and close to National Forest. Thanks anyone.
Re: Looking for column shaped evergreen "Origin unknown. Introduced [before/during]1948 (sold that year by Doty & Doerner nursery of Portland, OR). Grown by several California and Oregon nurseries since then. A sport of C. lawsoniana 'Alumii' having slower growth and extremely blue foliage in large flattened sprays." --A.L. Jacobson, NORTH AMERICAN LANDSCAPE TREES Being a C. lawsoniana cultivar it will be susceptible to root rot where infestation is present or is introduced later. If it came from the nursery infected or the planting site is already infested it will die fairly soon, if site becomes infested later then it will die later. When you buy and plant a member of this species you are gambling that the plant is clean and will remain so.
Re: Looking for column shaped evergreen "you can't always get what you want..." "may die" indeed. My neighbour's thug tree that I have been fighting to have removed for several years is a Chamaecyparis lawsoniana on its own roots. The thing is probably 100 years old. Mind you, I gather they way they "go" is turning brown from the bottom up, and this one has been progressively limbed up the last few years, and perhaps we keep cutting off infected bottom branches without realizing it. One arborist who came to look at it did say that little brown mushrooms on the ground around the tree are a sign that Phytophthora is present, and we have those mushrooms, so maybe we do have it. However, tree is now slated for removal so we may never know for sure. The tree stands on a bit of a slope, so maybe its long survival can be attributed to drainage.
Re: Looking for column shaped evergreen >One arborist who came to look at it did say that little brown mushrooms on the ground around the tree are a sign that Phytophthora is present< Phytophthora is a water mold related to brown algae, and not a fungus.
Oh Phytophthora really is terrible! i already lost two young trees because of it. I really try to keep excess water out of my garden, with good drainage that is. seems to be working well so far in decreasing the amount of mold/fungi all over the place. Johnny from TheReefTank
