Problem with Twombly's Red Sentinel

13 years ago

I have a Twombly's Red Sentinel that doesn't seem to be living up to its name: there what seem to be a few very new leaves and those are the only ones that are red (albeit a very bright red); the rest of the leaves are green and not so healthy looking.

This tree actually seemed on the verge of death a couple of years ago. Even though I had read that it tolerated full sun pretty well, it seemed to wilt under the same sun where we have a Seiryu thriving so we moved it from the south facing front of the house to the north facing backyard. Then the gardener chopped off the top of the main trunk (not sure what he was thinking and now he is not permitted to touch any of the japanesse maples). The overall height of the tree/shrub is probably about 3 feet tall and 1.5 feet wide. The bottom of what is left of the trunk looks healthy (it's probably close to 3" in diameter) and the mere fact that there are leaves on it is pretty amazing given what this tree has gone through.

Here are my questions:

- Any ideas why the leaves are not red?
- This tree is not very "sentinel" like right now; will it ever be and what do I do with it? I have the option to put it in a container now (I am looking for a maple for a 17x17 container anyway); should I just do that and see what happens to it?

Thanks. Vicky.

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Comments (3)

greenhavenrdgarden
13 years ago
I have that tree and last year I planted it in full sun. It stayed a deep red all summer with bright red new growth. This year I moved it to morning sun/afternoon shade (for aesthetic reasons-not bc it didn't like full sun). It is still deep red with bright red new growth. It seems like a tough tree and didnt skip a beat when moved or originally planted in July of last year. I have 56 maples and this is one of my healthiest/easiest trees. It's slowly growing but it is growing. Mine is about 4ft tall and still very narrow.
I live around the corner from Twombly's nursery where it was originally discovered and I did notice that some of their trees for sale are rather green. I thought it was bc of shade. It seems like the trees that were in a lot of shade were really green.
This is a great tree. I'm not sure what is going on with yours but I wanted to chime in how much I enjoy mine. Hopefully someone else can help you more. Good luck!!
Ps, I'm zone 6-CT
greenhavenrdgarden
13 years ago
Ps, as far as putting it in a container....I think that this tree is fine for that. I have plans to purchase another TRS to grow in a container for a tricky spot in my yard.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
13 years ago
Then the gardener chopped off the top of the main trunk (not sure what he was thinking and now he is not permitted to touch any of the japanese maples

There is your answer :-) Chopping off most of the main trunk essentially removed most of the Twombleys - what you have left now maybe just a few lower sprouting stems but mostly the understock the Twombleys was grafted on to. That's why the majority of the foliage is green (understock) and why the plant looks more like a shrub than a tree. It will never have that narrow columnar profile TRS is known for. Eventually the rootstock will take over and you won't even have a few red leaves - just green and shrubby.

Personally, I don't believe it is worth keeping. And I'm not sure you gardener is, either :-))