Weeping Alaskan Cedar Zone 6

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

I need advice on this Weeping Alaskan Cedar we planted in zone 6. It's about 7 ft tall and we have clay soil. We paid the nursery where we bought it, to plant it last October 2017 (fall). Come April 2018, I noticed the needles were turning brown (photo on left). We had a lot of rain this year and a very more than normal harsh winter. I called the nursery, they told me to wait until June to see how it was holding up. It's now August 1 after the brown needles fell off, it seems to be doing ok but notice the empty branches on the picture taken today (picture on right). The one branch doesn't seem to be dead since it still has green needles on the end of it? Should I trim those empty branches off in the spring or will the now bare branches grow new needles? I hate the way it looks. The tree is still under warranty and the idea of digging it ups seems like a lot of work. For those of you who know a lot about evergreens, can you tell me if that bald spot will eventually grow back? Should I trim off those branches with no needles? I hesitated to do that in the spring because if the needles do grow back it will even out the tree. If not, now I have a bald spot on the half of that side of the tree. What should I do?

Featured Answer

Mike McGarvey

8 years ago

A 'professional' landscape fabric! How is that different from normal landscape fabric? Anybody? Both are worthless in my opinion, even if there's a difference. I believe the trouble is in the rootball and the tree is on the way to recovery. They are notorious for having transplant difficulties.

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Comments (9)

Embothrium
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Going only by how things look in your pictures in the left shot the entire tree is discolored as though it is going to die. But in the right shot the still-green parts are no longer so yellowish, have regained some blueness. So you may be in the clear now. And - yes - if it is improving and continues to improve over time the scruffy appearance it has now will go away, as it adds additional foliage on the outside that obscures the gaps that are noticeable now.

In short what you should do is keep it watered during dry spells, fertilized if needed and wait for it to grow bigger.

And get rid of that redundant stake that is too small to be offering support anymore.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=nootkatensis+pendula&qpvt=nootkatensis+pendula&FORM=IGRE
ckingcyn1 thanked Embothrium
ckingcyn1
Original Author
8 years ago
I wondered about that stake...so thank you. And what about the bare branches? Should I cut them back next spring or will new needles sprout from them?
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Embothrium
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Completely dead and bare branches will have no continuing purpose but those with some foliage left should probably be retained (leaves make food from sunlight which is stored in stems and used to support new shoot growth later). To see a significantly better looking plant in that spot you'll either have to replace the tree or wait for the cignet to grow into a swan over a period of years.
ckingcyn1 thanked Embothrium
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
a very more than normal harsh winter.

==>>> had nothing to do with this.. its rated to z4.. and i highly doubt you had a z3 winter or worse ...

most likely a watering issue.. related to the transplant .... perhaps it went dry late in fall.. and winter sucked too much water out of the leaf tissue ...

how do you water it ... and how do you know if and when it needs water.. with the rock right up against the trunk???? ..... i would pull it back at least a foot around the trunk ..... and i sure as heck hope.. there isnt landscape cloth under the rock .. if so.. that is why you had water issues .....

you bought a plant that is a weirdo .... its rearranged its weirdness ... so what... give it a decade or so.. and the lost branches.. will be long forgotten ....

just as an aside .... this is one of those plants whose leader droops ... and you have to wonder.. how every year.. it gets taller ....

ken
ckingcyn1 thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
ckingcyn1
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
In the spring when the needles started to turn, I purchased a watering meter to check the soil. It does a really good job letting me know how wet or dry the ground is. I use the same small hole each time and can read 9" down into the soil to check the moisture. We did have a really heavy rain fall this spring. In fact it rained all the way up until late June. Now that it's August 1st, the yellowing seems to have stopped all together. I do have a professional landscape fabric down under the rocks. With the tree being so green now, do you think the fabric is a problem? I can definitely remove it if it's going to cause stress every spring when it rains a lot.
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
8 years ago
If not now, the landscape fabric will be a problem in the future as it clogs and weeds grow right through it. Best not to use it.

tj
ckingcyn1 thanked tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
Mens Tortuosa(5b Omaha, NE)
8 years ago
I have landscape fabric that's still working after 20 years or more. It is thicker than the stuff I see at home stores being sold as "professional grade".
ckingcyn1 thanked Mens Tortuosa(5b Omaha, NE)
plantkiller_il_5
8 years ago
get rid of the rock & fabric,,,nothing but trouble in long run

put down some nice organic mulch

also in time you will have to cut a big hole thru that fence

after about 25 yrs. mine is a good 15 ft across

ron
ckingcyn1 thanked plantkiller_il_5