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Wed, Oct 10, 12 at 11:50
| I posted this in the Maples forum but haven't had a response so far. So ...
I planted 6 Japanese maples (with 5 others overwintering in containers) and 4 Crape myrtles last month. Three of the CMs...Tonto, Natchez and Dynamite... range from 4'-5' tall and their leaves are coloring nicely. On the other hand, Catawba is 8' tall; its leaves began dropping shortly after planting but that has stopped. (Was told that leaf drop under these circumstances is normal.) What's surprising is that very tiny new leaves are appearing on Catawba's branches. I assumed it was entering its dormant state rather than putting out new growth. Is this something unique to this cultivar? Is it a response of some kind to the initial loss of leaves? Appreciate any help and advice. gary |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Wed, Oct 10, 12 at 11:53
| did you fert at planting?? and where are you.. z6 is a pretty big area??? ken |
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| "Is it a response of some kind to the initial loss of leaves?" Sometimes when plants prematurely drop their leaves from stressors (like being planted in the ground or pot) and they have decided their growing season is not over, they will put out new growth like your catawba is producing after they get over the initial shock. John |
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| Thanks for the responses. ken: I applied no fertilizers or amendments at planting time or since. (Didn't want to encourage new growth.) Rain has kept the soil adequately moist in this region. I mulched with pine bark nuggets to a depth of 2"-3" and extended the mulch 3' out from the trunk. As concerns the zone: Gardenweb's zonefinder indicates that Roanoke, VA is in zone 7. However, travel 30 miles west and you have zone 6. IOW, I'm right on the edge of zone 7 and, to be safe, would prefer to think in terms of zone 6! :0) John: Hadn't thought about stress potentially impacting dormancy but it makes sense. gary |
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- Posted by toronado3800 Z6 St. Louis (My Page) on Wed, Oct 10, 12 at 17:01
| Stress made my metasequoia drop needles and then the end of the drought and tons of water and it was re-leafing. Now its kinda stuck in between hopefully getting ready for winter. My freshly transplanted sourwood dropped its leaves earlier and releafed entirely. It now is going dormant. |
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| toronado3800: A dawn redwood. Lucky you ... still waiting for a nursery in this area to offer one!! I should have asked everyone: Is there anything I can, or should, do at this point? The new growth will obviously be killed by low temperatures; will this have repercussions regarding the health/life of the tree, as well as blooms next year? gary |
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| The tree will be fine. |
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