Why I Oughta...

The Fall Colors series of posts continues today with a look at the Dawn Redwood tree in our backyard. Yesterday, I posted a look at the red foliage on some of the Oakleaf Hydrangeas in our backyard and talked about how I don't have a ton of 'red' Fall colors .    Earlier, I posted a look at the contrast between the small Saragoga Ginkgo tree and Little Henry Sweetspire by our front stairs .   And before that, I posted a photo of the Butterscotch Amsonia in our 'kitchen curved' bed that was as bright as it has EVER been in the Fall.  This post shows (at the top) a photo of the orange needles on our Dawn Redwood tree.  This tree went in the ground in 2018 as a three-to-four-foot-tall container-grown tree .  It has grown up and sprawled out.  I'd call this a more 'informal' shape right now.  The leader is leaning over and not shooting up very fast.   This tree has given this small little orange 'show' each Fall - and I've tried to document it o

Six years ago, I planted a tiny Bald Cypress tree .  It was a TINY tree.  I mean...tiny.  Pencil-thin trunk with a leader that was four-feet-tall or less.  If you go look at the photos from this post, you can BARELY make the trunk out.   But, that didn't last long.  This tree has grown and grown and grown.  I'd say that this is probably the BEST OUTCOME of any small tree we've planted over the years - and there's more than 100 of them.  I've chronicled this tree's growth over the years - as recent as last September when I noticed HOW BIG IT HAS GOTTEN .  Two years ago - September of 2022 - the tree was filling out and growing up.   Over the years, I have barely touched this tree.  However...when I planted it, there wasn't a driveway RIGHT NEXT TO IT.  There is one now.  So, starting this past Winter, I gave it its first dormant pruning - limbing it up just a little bit.  But, mostly just 'shortening' the bottom branches .   The time to do even more

A couple weeks shy of five-years-ago, we planted a tiny Bald Cypress tree in our front yard .  At the time, i was dealing with a 'clay bowl' or ' bathtub effect' in the area (on a different tree), so we went beyond in terms of digging a 'five-dollar-hole'.  Five years later, I can saw - without a doubt - that this Bald Cypress is the most successful tiny tree that we've had since we started here in Downers.  Not only has the tree survived, it has put on A LOT of size.  Height and width and even caliper . I last measured it a year ago when it was just about a 3.5" caliper tree.   Today?  I haven't done the caliper (yet), but by the eye-test?  It has grown even bigger. See below for the current - late Summer state of our Bald Cypress that sits in-between-two-driveways. Having learned my lesson on pruning small trees, I've left this one alone totally.  Not a prune.  At least on our side.  Turns out...when our neighbors built their new driveway, th

I've documented a flush of growth on our Dawn Redwood tree over the year that typically occurs a little later in Summer - August (usually) - where the tips of the tree see some new, light-green (and tender) needles that appear.   This year, that flush (or...perhaps a different flush) came in early July.  Below is a photo showing one of the limbs of the tree that is showing some new growth.  A few things to note:  this entire tip is seasonal new growth.  It isn't woody (yet) - and is still green - so that means it arrived this growing season.  Second....the new growth I'm talking about...is at the very tips.  You can see that lighter green set of needles in a few spots. This Dawn Redwood is a tree that I have NOT touched one bit - in terms of pruning.  Not an inch of limb has been removed.  Why?  Because, I really learned quite a bit with my FIRST Dawn Redwood.  I don't know where I picked up the idea that limbing up young trees is the right move.  Now...limb'ing up

The Dawn Redwood tree that we have in our backyard is turning from green to orange and is showing a mix of needles on the tree.  One thing that I've noted about this tree THIS YEAR is that it didn't seem to put on much growth.  Seem is the key word.  I'm sure that it did.  But, it just didn't make any meaningful leap like it has in previous years.  The top of the tree - the apical meristem - is thin and wispy.  And has taken on a curved or flop'ed-over appearance.  The last big 'leap' on this tree was in the Summer of 2019 when the leader jumped up .   Back to the orange needles:  this happens each Fall.  Here's a post from 363 days ago showing the same green-to-orange needle transition .  We don't get a ton of oranges and reds in the garden - something to note - so this orange is welcome.  (We get A LOT of yellow and browns.) Below are a couple of photos showing the emergence of the orange needles on this (now) four-year planted ( planted in 2018 )

Four years.  That's how long it took for our Bald Cypress tree to go from a thin, wispy nursery pot tree to a mature-enough tree to bear fruit.  I bought this small tree at the orange Big Box Nursery back in September of 2018 .  I planted it in the IB2DWs section and followed Ralph Snodsmith's advice by giving it a " Five Dollar Hole " and hoped for the best.  By Fall of 2020 (two years after planting), we were seeing plenty of needle growth .  Same with a year later (September 2021) when the tree seemed to have 'leaped' up .   Just earlier this month, I captured the caliper dimension (6" from root flare) at 3.47" .  Up from 1.21" in February of 2020 .   This tree is CLEARLY at the head of the class in terms of all of the plantings we've made of small trees.  It is growing tall and wide .  And is likely getting ready for the first real limb'ing up of the tree as it begins to encroach on driveways.  (remember...it is located IB2DWs after

One of the things that I've been meaning to do this growing season is to get out and capture a full caliper measure of all of our planted trees.  I didn't get to it last year, so the existing data I have on the trees size-wise is from 2020.  On this year's to-do list, I included a mention of 'capturing the caliper measures' , so it has been on my mind all season.  Have I measured all the trees?  Nope.  But, I did measure one (so far).  And it is the Bald Cypress that has grown massively over the past few growing seasons.  That growth is why I started with this tree. What does the tree look like today?  It is tall and stout and I'd consider it the best/most-productive tree that we've planted.  See below for the current state.  I have not pruned one branch off of this, but the time is coming.  See that driveway on the right side of the photo?  That wasn't there when this tree was planted, so this will now need to get limb'd up so it doesn't rub on

I've been tracking our small (but growing) Dawn Redwood tree for a number of years - since planting it (as a replacement) in the 2018 growing season .  That means, we're in the midst of the fifth growing season ('18, '19, '20, '21, '22) and the tree continues to kind of creep-along.  It put on massive growth in 2019, but I haven't been tracking it that closely ever since - because the height is now out of reach for me. But, every year - in late Summer - I've been seeing a 'flush' of new growth.  This usually happens on the tips of the limbs with new needles emerging in late August.  See below for an example of this year's flush of needles: Here's the post showing the same growth spurt in August of 2021 .  And, here, in very early September 2020 shows the same flush .  And the first Fall - 2018 - it had a similar flush but a little later.   I'm overdue for a full caliper measurement of all the trees (including this one), but I hope

This photo (below) shows off the buds that have formed (lateral buds) on our Dawn Redwood tree .  This is the tree that I monitor the MOSTLY closely through all four seasons in the garden.  It is, by far, my FAVORITE tree.  It was one (originally) that we planted with the kids on Earth Day and was the first tree we put in.  It had to be replaced , but in spirit...I consider this the same tree.   Each Spring, I watch this tree and how the buds are ready to open - while I hold my breath - that the tree has survived ANOTHER winter.  This year, it opened up - what I THOUGHT was VERY late (April) , but in doing a little research of past years, it was right on time.  The tree is covered with lateral buds on all of the very thin limbs - you can see a run of them below: I suppose I should revisit that guide from UW-Stevens Point that walks us through the Winter buds .  These are opposite buds, aren't they?  The photo makes it look like they're NOT perfectly lined up, but they're N

I've posted photos of our Dawn Redwood here on the blog over the years - usually including a photo showing the needles turning orange in a nice Fall show.  Last year, I posted in late October a fully-orange tree .  This year - we're in the first week of November and just *some* of the needles are turning orange.  You can see in the photo below a few of the pairs of orange needle-lets (is that what they're called??) surrounded by green ones.    This is my favorite tree in our yard and I'm really interested to see it keep growing. It is slow-going (unlike the Bald Cypress in our front yard), but it just keeps putting on a little bit of height each growing season.  I posted photos showing the usual Fall flush of growth in late August this year .  It seems that 2020 (Orange in October) is the outlier.  As, this photo from November 2019 shows a mixed orange/green tree .  That's where I think we'll end up this year - something like a mid-November orange Fall show.  20

It seems that September is when we get a big flush of growth on our front yard Bald Cypress tree.  This year is the second year in a row when I've been able to catch (and document) the new, happy feather-like needles that show up in a big, late-Summer blow-up.  Here's last year's post on the same subject .  The last time I posted a photo was from July when this tree had new Summer-time growth . Here - below - is a look at the big, feathery "pom-poms" of growth that are currently sitting on a bunch of the limbs and branches.   I used "pom-poms" because they are sort of little balls of growth on the edges that remind me of pom-poms. And, here below, is a look at the full tree.  It has really grown big and strong this season and comes in close to eight or nine feet tall by my eyeball. I haven't measured the caliper of the trunk, but it is sizable - and way up compared to what I measured 18 months ago when it was less than 1.25" .  I'll get the

Back in the end of July, I posted a couple of photos showing the flush of new, mid-Summer growth on our small Bald Cypress tree in our front yard.  Well..technically, it is IB2DW , but that's still in front.  We have a second deciduous conifer in our yard - a Dawn Redwood that is planted out back - that had the same flush of new, Summer growth on the tips that I wanted to document.   This is our second Dawn Redwood; planted in the 2018 growing season .  I had planted one originally in 2017, but between some neglect and not knowing anything (I limb'd it up), it died.   This tree was green and happy just about 12 months ago (late July 2020 when we were deep in COVID). Below you can see the new, soft growth that is on the tips of the entire tree.  The top, apical meristem has added about six inches to the top so far, too. Last year, I posted similar 'new growth' photos of this same tree in September .  I'm wondering if that means we'll see new growth for the bett

Our little Bald Cypress tree - that is planted 'in between two driveways' is beginning to shine.  It was so small when we planted it and all of last growing season, it was sandwiched up against a chain link construction fence, so I'm not sure we enjoyed it all.  But this year?  It is putting on a thick new coat of needles and as a lot of growth at the tips of the existing limbs.  Here, below, is a look at how the tips are growing thick and lush: I need to get around to doing a caliper measurement on this tree (and all of the trees), but I can tell that this is the 'leap' year in the sleep/creep/leap cycle.  Planted in the Fall of 2018 , we're in the third growing season, so that tracks, right?  Last Summer, it had a nice run that included some growth all the way up until September and was mulched properly this Spring.   We call this tree the "Dinosaur Tree" in our house because of the heritage of the tree going back to the time when dinosaurs roamed t

Posting a couple of photos of two trees in our yard that I took earlier this month.  First, we have two Catalpa trees in our yard.  Starting around June 8th and running through the middle of the month, both of our Catalpa trees were in bloom with lovely white blooms.  I inherited both of these, so filing these under [inherited tree] like I did with the Oaks and River Birch clump .   Here, below, is Catalpa tree that is closer to our house in bloom.  It is a really nice tree that I never looked at very closely.  It is tucked in behind the large Northern Red Oak tree and in front of one of our large Walnuts.   You can see the blooms scattered on the ground under the tree in the photo above. The other tree that I wanted to share was the Dawn Redwood tree below.  It was VERY slow to break bud but by late April, it started to come alive.  With the drought we've had all Spring, it seemed to my naked eye like this tree hasn't filled out as much as it has in previous years.  But, now

I've been worrying about our Dawn Redwood tree for the past four weeks.  I use the traditional fingernail scrape method on tree bark to see if trees are healthy and showing green right under the bark.  Our Dawn Redwood tree seemed to be very slow to start this Spring.  I was seeing other trees have buds set and begin to leaf out in some ways while this tree was seemingly stuck in neutral.  Making matters worse, my fingernail test wasn't showing any green on the trunk.  It wasn't brown.  And the limbs weren't cracking.  But, I wasn't seeing green like I was on our other young trees.   But, I don't have a Spring 2020 post in the garden diary here to show WHEN this tree needle'd out, so that gave me concern.  What was making me relax (a bit) was this post from 2019 when I show it being 'needle'd out' in early June of 2019 .  So, imagine my delight (and, frankly RELIEF!) when I walked out in the backyard and noticed the buds swelling and showing off

 The folks at The Growing Place in Naperville and Aurora have recently posted a list of some "new" or at least "new to them" plants and trees that they will be carrying this season .  There are a few things that I'm seeing on the list that are interesting to consider, but one item in particular made me go and do more research.  It is all.the.way.at.the.bottom of the list they published.  Go ahead, click here .  And scroll down.  There, you'll find the Lindsey’s Skyward Bald Cypress tree.  Here's how they describe it on their site: What's that?  Narrow form?  Oh, you know me, I'm a sucker for narrow, columnar-form trees.  A quick look around the Web reveals even more details including: "fern-like needles", "very upward facing branches", "Winter interest", "dramatic symmetrical columnar habit", "showy bronze carpet".   You hand me at fern-like + narrow.  And, here (below) is what it looks like in t

We don't have a ton of trees that put on a nice "Fall Show" in our yard.  We seem to mostly go from green to yellow to (very quickly) brown.  A little bit of orange here and there including on the Dawn Redwood that looked really nice with orange needles this Fall .  But, the tiny Bald Cypress that I planted in the front yard two years ago is doing something it hasn't done before:  put on a Fall Show.  You can see the dark orange (almost rust color) on the needles is a nice contrast to the yellow maple leaves laying on the ground at the base of the trunk.   This tree seemed to do well this season - even had some late Summer growth - but, with our neighbors pouring a brand new driveway (you can see it in the photo above), I have some concerns about the location.  At this point, however...it seems like we'll just have to 'limb it up' as it grows to keep it off the neighbor's driveway.

Our Dawn Redwood is my favorite tree in our yard.  It is easy to miss or forget due to it being tucked away in the back of our yard and is still pretty small.  This is the replacement tree and I planted this version of the tree in the Summer of 2018 and this version of the tree has done well over the past three growing seasons.  It survived in 2018.  In 2019, it shot way up.  Like 3' of new growth. The tree is putting on a nice fall show with orange needles.  You can see it in the photo above.  Our yard is mostly yellows and greens and browns come Fall.  But this Dawn Redwood is a lovely orange.  The last time I checked in with this tree was in September when it was throwing off some new, lush growth after weathering the heat of the Summer.   However, I'm a little uneasy on this tree as the orange is a little different than last year - which I know was a positive Fall season because the tree came back this Spring. It wasn't until November - about a month later than today

Yesterday, I posted a couple of photos showing off some late Summer growth on our Dawn Redwood and today, wanted to add an entry to my Garden Diary showing off some similar growth on our *other* deciduous conifer:  the Bald Cypress in our front yard.  The last time that I posted about this tree was earlier this in January when it was showing some buds on the tree . Similar to the Dawn Redwood, I haven't totally baby'd this tree, but have done some hand watering around the mulch ring.   This tree is 'downhill' from one of our gutter pop-ups, so whatever rain we *do* get, this tree gets some benefit.  I also tried to break up the "clay bowl" prior to planning this tree back in 2018 .  The needles on this tree - at this point in the Summer - aren't a bright, vibrant green, but this new growth (on the tips) is providing a nice pop of color. This tree is planted pretty close to the north property line - between our driveway and the new construction site

My history with our Dawn Redwood has been mixed overall, but over the past few years, it seems that things have been going well. Originally planted our first Spring - in 2017 - I over-pruned the tree and didn't baby it enough leading to it only lasting that first season .  By 2018, I had replaced it.  That year, I really tried to pay attention the small, thin tree.  I hand-watered it regularly and we had a little bit of a milder Summer.  And the tree made it through its first year.  By Fall of 2018 - the first full year with the replacement tree - I was seeing Fall growth .  That felt good.  It needle'd-out in the Spring of 2019 and hasn't looked back.  It grew 36" last year .  The last time that I checked in on the tree was earlier this Summer when I found a little bit of new growth on top - gaining even more height.  Today, I'm diary'ing a few photos showing some late Summer growth on the tips.  I've tried to pay a moderate amount of attention