16 (6Ft) container grown Cyprtomeria Yoshino, professionally planted in full sun Oct. 29th, 2005 are under my care. I've read all previous posts and still have questions. What is the proper care for these trees, in the foothills of North Carolina, border line zones 7-8? I too was told to water (pressure as if I forgot to turn off the hose) 10-15 minutes per tree every 2-3 days. More often for a mild winter and less often when it rained regualry. One of the trees is complete brown, except for some green at the bottom. Do I cut off all of the limbs in hope that new branches will form? Should I continue to water this tree hoping to regain life? When I called the nursery they told me I over-watered. My remaining trees grew about 1ft. since planting, but now they are turning brown on the tops of the "leaves" and are full green underneath. Even some of the new growth is turning brown on the tips. Are these at risk or being burned from the sun? I saw a green bug the size of a large beetle on my tree. Is this bug causing damage? What is a rust problem? Do I have a fungus and should I treat? If yes, with what? Should I cut off the brown spots and treat with Clorox? If yes, what is the percentage of water, if any, in the solution? What is the best time of day to water? Is there a cut-off time before nightfall? Our temps can range from 30's at night to 60's mid-day. When is it too cold to water to avoid root damage? When can I fertilize the tree and will this help them regain life? Our temps become milder in March so I pray that they will last until them. I was told March/April I could fertilize, but I'm not sure if I trust these instructions. Photo was taken November 19th. I don't have a current picture but will get one if absolutely needed for your response. HELP!
In the picture most of them look quite green. Closer shots will be needed to get any kind of real idea what might be going on--except that there are "mulch volcanoes" mounded up on top of them quite apparently. This is a mistake. Pull the mulch back away from the tops. You should make a bed that encompasses all of them and gives them plenty of grass free area. The mulch could be spread around over this new bed. Perhaps you will get something out of this: http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda Chalker-Scott/Fact Sheets/Planting fact sheet.pdf
Cyprtomeria tend to go brown or bronze in winter, so don't panic. They do not need much special care, so unless you can find a pest it may be best to wait and see. There is no need to fertilize at all unless your soil flat out sucks. There is no need to water unless it is very dry. Don't mess with the soil. Most often we "kill with kindness". It's a tree... plant it in the right spot and ignore it. I'll bet they green up just fine in the spring. Cheers, SandyHill from eastern NC
SandyHill and Ron B, Thanks to you both. I drove to a nursery today to see what their Cryptomeria Yoshino's looked liked and much to my surprise, they too were bronzed. Sandy, this was before I read your posting. So, like a new parent I am somewhat comforted knowing that this is common. Nevertheless, I did get current pictures, as suggested by Ron, capturing the worst and some of the better ones. But because of the file size limit I cannot attach them to this thread.
Elmore posted a nice little helper on resizing images here: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=6631
Yoshino will naturally have some bronzing in the overall cast for color due to cooler temperatures. Our Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans' turn almost a violet bronze in color every Winter for us here. The tree that is brown with some green at the lower portions of the tree does have a problem. Needle cast due to a rust fungus is prevalent in Yoshino. It is common to lose a few trees of it in a group planting when these trees are young in warmer and in dry climates. When the trees get about 20 years of age they will overcome some of the effects of the rust fungus but it is hard to wait that long for the trees to develop the resistance. The dropping of the needles in Winter could be a result of a spider mite infestation during the Summer. A good shower of water from the top down during the hot and dry months will help act as a mite suppressant. With Cryptomeria we want to ensure plenty of moisture but we also have to have fast drainage as we kill more of these trees when we over water them. We deep water them when they are first planted and once they have been in the ground for a year we cut way back on the water in areas that have high to medium humidity. Fertilizing Yoshino with any heavy amounts of Nitrogen is a death sentence. The mulch can compensate for any additional Nitrogen but I think you have too much of it also, too much too near the base of the trees. You may want to invest some dollars into having a soil analysis done and learn how much organic matter you do have in the soil. By the looks of the other Conifers the soil testing is optional but if you are serious about growing Yoshino or want to add in additional Conifers then it will more than likely be a wise investment for you. The comment that we kill Cryptomeria with too much kindness is accurate. Some areas can indeed pop them into the ground and leave them alone but in warmer climates without marine air and with alkaline soils we have to compensate and adapt for soil/water/plant relationships. Jim
Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans' do bronze in winter here in the NC piedmont, but our 'Yoshino' stays nice and green even in the worst of winters. It's planted in the worst of clay soils, receives only rain water, gets no fertilizer, but thrives. It's grown from a cutting taken at the National Arboretum in DC in November 1983. The beauty is over 40 ft tall now. So heed the good advice and stop babying it, get rid of the thick mulch near the trunk, and let it grow. When our tree was very young, several spots turned brown. I pruned them out and no more appeared as it got established. I just took cuttings to propagate for some friends - the literature says February is the best time - and they look good so far.
