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Showing posts with the label needles

Green Giant Thuja - Northside Evergreen - On Decline Watch - February 2024

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Coming up on two years ago (April 2022), I planted six Green Giant Thujas in two spots .  Three evergreen trees in a row on the southside of the backyard and three on the northside.    Here's a post showing the three on the north side that included transplanting some Lilac shrubs along the fenceline.   By December 2022 - 7ish months later - two of them were in trouble.  Here's a look at how one of them had 'browned out' during the Winter dormancy period .  By the following Spring (May 2023), another one was gone.  Two down, one remaining on the north side .   The three on the southside have survived just fine.  Here's a look at those three last September - 17 months after being planted - and they looked good .  Right now, in Winter they look *different* than they do during their growing season: darker, less shine and a little unhappy.  But, I'm pretty sure those three are going to be fine come Spring. The remaining one on the north side, however, is....well, I&

Mugo Pine - Two Years In Ground - August 2023

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Planted in the Fall of 2021, our Mugo Pine is (now...almost two years later) still a small, evergreen shrub.    I last looked at it a little over a year ago (August 2022), when it was looking good - green and compact and full of needles .   Early this past Winter (November 2022), the dang rabbits went at this thing and gnawed off a bunch of the tips .  And...the little jerks just left them there.   Of course, that meant that a chicken wire ring needed to be put up to protect it from the pests.  Like the Toad Lilies, I've left this chicken wire ring up all Summer.   Here, below, is what the Mugo Pine looks like below.  First, a look from the top-down.  Then, from the side-on: It has put on some height this year and has opened-up a bit.  What was dense and compact last year is now a little more airy.  The tips are full of longer needles that are reaching up-and-out.  I don't have a ton of conifers, so looking at this one makes me think I should be adding some to my Fall 2023 to-d

Dawn Redwood Early Summer Flush - July 2023

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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

Dawn Redwood - Orange Needles - November 2022

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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 )

Brown's Yew Planted - October 2022

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I feel like I'm finishing the planting season of 2022 the same way that I started it:  focused on shrubs.  The number-one item on my 2022 to-do list was to prioritize shrubs by adding a series of them to our backyard .  I'm pretty happy with the results this year - as I added a series of shrubs including new Oakleaf Hydrangeas and Viburnums.  And moved a few others around.    But, I'm closing the shrub-planting season with a new (to me) shrub:  Brown's Yew.  I have a bunch of Yews in our backyard - but they're ALL one variety:  Hick's upright Yews.  I'm drawn to those because of their shape as well as the fact that they can tolerate shade - which we have plenty of around here. I came across this lone evergreen shrub - a Brown's Yew - that was on such a good sale that I couldn't pass it up.  You can see it in the photo above - sitting in a 5 gallon nursery stock container. This was the first time that I came across a Brown's Yew.  Densiformis?  Ye

Dawn Redwood Summer Needle Flush - August 2022

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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

Dawn Redwood - Turning Orange - Early November 2021

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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

Dawn Redwood Summer Flush - August 2021

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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

Bald Cypress Summer Foliage - July 2021

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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

Dawn Redwood - Fall Show - October 2020

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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

Wilt Pruf To Protect Conifers And Rhododrends Before Winter (Zone 5b)

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This is the second year that I've applied Wilt Pruf to some of our most delicate plants to prepare them for Winter.  Last year, I posted photos showing off how I applied Wilt Pruf to just one of our Rhododendrons as an experiment and it turned out t hat one that didn't get any Wilt Pruf seemed better than the one that has an application .  But, that could be for a variety of reasons - and perhaps the Wilt Pruf helped keep the one that was a little behind healthy during the tough Winter. I also applied Wilt Pruf to the small Weeping Cedar tree last Fall, but it didn't survive , so this is clearly not bulletproof. So...what is Wilt Pruf?  And why would you apply it to your plants before Winter? From this product listing : Wilt-Pruf is a natural, pine oil emulsion that is organic, non-hazardous and biodegradable. Simply, spray it on to form a transparent and flexible, protective coating that will keep plant foliage and stems from drying out through extended periods