Greetings all, Unfortunately, my camera is travelling in Europe, so I don't have a picture of our new baby. A healthy Crimson Queen joined our Zone 5b - East York, Ontario - garden a month ago, coming from a reputable nursery. It's approx 24"/60cm tall and has the beginnings of a beautiful cascade. It is grafted, and the join is very well knitted. The tree is protected from winds by conifers, is well mulched and is getting regular watering. So far there has been no die back and the ends of the fine leaves are not showing signs of stress. The baby Queen is in a spot that is quite shady now, because the sun is so low and the larger trees are in full leaf. The colour is more burgundy than crimson, but summer was very hot and smoggy so many trees aren't changing colour as expected. For instance, my Sugar Maple hasn't started changing colour yet and the Lindens are still in full green leaf, too. I've read around about whether to wrap a young disected maple and haven't found anything definitive. I planted a Waterfall last year and it is doing very well in a similar situation. It wasn't wrapped last winter - but it was more mature when planted. Over the years we've wrapped and not-wrapped various trees. Sometimes we wished we had wrapped when we didin't - and sometimes wished we hadn't wrapped when we did. Go figure. Your thoughts, as always, are appreciated.
vcallinan, I am in Central Illinois and I use Wilt Pruf on the acers I don't wrap. It is supposed to give you an extra zone. I have a Crimsom Queen that is rather large and is sheltered by our house, but I still use Wilt Pruf on it. If you wrap, I really like using floating row cover rather than burlap. I wrap mine until they are too large to wrap and then use the Wilt Pruf. It is unsightly over the winter, but it keeps the deer from feeding on them; I think all the white "ghosts" floating around the garden worry them. Kay Dye Edelstein, IL Zone 5
Thanks Steely1, I'll look into Wilt Pruf. No deer here. Our Garden Club meeting was this week and I asked - again, there were yes and no responses. However, one of the middle grounds was not to "wrap" or teepee, but to put up a burlap fence on one or two sides that get the most winds. That way the tree can get sufficient air and water, but no damaging wind. That method sounds perfect for a young caryopteris that went in earlier this year. PS: The Waterfall turned to a brilliant flame this week - it's stunning. :-)
