Liquidamber - leaf buds die

Discussion in 'Woody Plants' started by Bebesmom, Jun 22, 2006.

  1. Bebesmom

    Bebesmom Active Member

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    Location:
    Wenatchee - Eastern Slope of the Cacades, WA
    I have a 2-year old Liquidamber, planted the fall before last. I believe it is the Rotundiloba variety. It has rounded leaves. The tree had slow growth last summer. On the ends of its new branches, it set leaf buds in the fall, including at the end of the very tallest branch. It was very late to leaf-out this spring - starting in May and continuing until mid-June. The leaves finally emerged, but not from the leaf buds. Instead, new branches and leaves sprouted at the base of last years branch growth. The topmost branch had no sprouts at all and I finally pruned it back down to where there was one - about a foot down. Someone suggested the tree might be planted too low, but that is not the case. The root flare is just below ground and the graft is about 4 inches out of the ground. Any ideas? I think the tree is thriving now because the new growth is hardy and lush.
     
  2. Raakel

    Raakel Active Member

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    North Vancouver
    Hello,

    I had found another posting by you which stated that you were located in a zone 3. I am surprised that your Liquidambar has survived as long as it has. It is known to be hardy to zone 6a. It seems that the cold temperatures of the winter killed the leaf buds and as a result dormant buds along the trunk and branches of the tree emerged to compensate for the dead leaf buds. Here is link which describes the plants response to this kind of stress.

    Raakel
     
  3. Bebesmom

    Bebesmom Active Member

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    Wenatchee - Eastern Slope of the Cacades, WA
    Raakel. You're right, the problem was originally mentioned in a thread about planting new trees in the Hort Board area. I didn't get a lot of help there and figured I needed to repost it. Yours is the first/only reply that mentioned winter freezing problems. Your description sounds like the right explanation to me. It's just what it looked like, all the new growth and buds died and yet the tree itself didn't die, so it sprouted elsewhere. This tree was sold to me by a local nursery (reputable) with no comment about it being inappropriate for my zone. I am a 3B in Sunset, and a 6-7 in USDA chart and it seems to be a borderline area where some plants make it and others don't depending on the elevation and even the side of the house. Thanks for your input. I think I have another throw-away plant. I'll wait, but I'm not optimistic.
     

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