Is this a Cedar Tree?

[mercy1grace2@gmail.com]

My neighbor has a full grown tree in her yard that keeps sending me seedling plants--gotta love THAT

I want to replace a foundation plant that is overgrown with one of these, but not sure how big they get, the best way to transplant, etc.


[img]https://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu313/mercy1grace2/IMG_4375-1-1.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu313/mercy1grace2/IMG_4378-1.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu313/mercy1grace2/IMG_4377-1.jpg[/img]

[hendi_alex]

Looks like a red cedar or similar species to me. They get way too big to be placed closer than about 20 feet from a house. You can get lots of dwarf cedars that make excellent foundation plants.

[valleytreeman]

They grow with a nice columnar shape similar to many of the thujas (Arborvitaes). They tend to prefer full sunlight where they a rapid to medium growers but will grudgingly grow in shade. They are considered a pioneer species, often among the first trees to appear in old abandoned fields and other disturbed areas. They often form nearly pure stands of trees or may be mixed with native pines and locust. The wood has a decay resistant red heart and they are often used for fence posts. This is the cedar of traditional cedar chests and closets.

The female trees will bear blue berries in fall and winter that make the foliage great for Christmas decorations.

[hendi_alex]

They also get 30-50 feet tall and 14-20 feet wide. Takes quite a while, but this appears to be a relatively young family. Would want one place too closely to the house, if it were mine.

[wingdesigner]

My guess is Eastern Red Cedar. Waay too big for foundations. Excellent bird tree, though. I have a couple Eastern White Cedar and one Blue Juniper "volunteers" and there's always a nest in each. All are more than "grudgingly" growing in partial shade, straight as arrows. Go figure.

[mercy1grace2@gmail.com]

Thank you all for your helpful comments--they made a big difference in my decision on where to plant/transplant my seedlings! Sorry for the delayed response--I've been out with a bad back from digging a new garden!
Jena

[wingdesigner]

Oh the bane of us gardeners--overdoing it! Feel better soon.

[Sirswift]

Hi,

I have a 20ft red cedar we just transplanted; this happened 8 days ago. I have a drip hose wrapped around the trunk area three times and it's on a slow trickle. I let it run from 8am to 6pm every day. What else should I do to assure its survival?

Muracid?

Fertilizer?

Different watering program?

Thank you,

Howard

[wingdesigner]

Sirswift, if you just planted the tree a week ago, quit watering! No fertiliser of any kind this year. Water only when the ground dries out to a depth of 6" to encourage root growth. Then give it a deep soaking like you describe. The frequency of watering will depend on what type of soil it's in, sandy, loamy, or clay-ey. If you meet its native requirements for soil/light then you shouldn't need to fertilise at all, or hardly ever. Do watch out for spider mites during its first few years of growth and treat appropriately. Check through this section for other cedar threads, for more tips and tricks. Given the size of your tree, it will probably suffer transplant shock for a while. Did you remove the burlap/wire/whatever from around the rootball? I presume this was professionally planted?

[Green Thumb Joe]

Drip irrigation is great to use, but please let the rootball dry out inbetween waterings. If the roots don't have to "seek out" water they will not grow outward. Roots that have to "seek out" water will provide your tree with better structural support and be less dependend on irrigation after becoming established.

[Green Thumb Joe]

Sirswift,
I forgot to mention this in my last post. It's very important to make sure that your drip hoses are not touching the trunk of your tree. Doing so may cause root-rot. What you should do is pull the hose a few feet away from the trunk. Ideally, you'll have your hose about half way between the trunk and drip-line of the tree. The drip-line is where the spread of the branches end. 50% of a trees roots are located within it's drip-line. By pulling the irrigation pipe away from the trunk, you'll promote healthy root growth and prevent any negative effects caused by over watering.

[Sirswift]

Sirswift,
I forgot to mention this in my last post. It's very important to make sure that your drip hoses are not touching the trunk of your tree. Doing so may cause root-rot. What you should do is pull the hose a few feet away from the trunk. Ideally, you'll have your hose about half way between the trunk and drip-line of the tree. The drip-line is where the spread of the branches end. 50% of a trees roots are located within it's drip-line. By pulling the irrigation pipe away from the trunk, you'll promote healthy root growth and prevent any negative effects caused by over watering.

Wing and Green Thumb,

Thank you for the replies. However, let me clarify that this is not a 20 footer from a nursery. I uprooted it with a tractor and had it moved to another place on my property. The drip hose is about four feet from the trunk and spread out in three rings up to six feet from the trunk. Still too much water even though it's an uprooted tree?

Thanks,

Sirswift

[The Helpful Gardener]

MAy not survive the transplant shock; chemical fertilizer would be the final nail in the coffin...

Got Compost?

Best thing would be to topdress now that it's moved (I don't amend soil in a tree hole much, but I generally add compost and [url=https://www.ocregister.com/articles/mycorrhizae-plant-plants-2301080-water-soil]mycorrhizal supplements[/url], which would be a great idea here too...

And Wing, I would use [url=https://www.hort.uconn.edu/Plants/j/junvir/junvir1.html]Juniperus virginiana 'Emerald Sentinel'[/url]near a house; it's a very fastigiate selection on ERC...

Good Luck!

HG

[Sirswift]

MAy not survive the transplant shock; chemical fertilizer would be the final nail in the coffin...

Got Compost?

Best thing would be to topdress now that it's moved (I don't amend soil in a tree hole much, but I generally add compost and [url=https://www.ocregister.com/articles/mycorrhizae-plant-plants-2301080-water-soil]mycorrhizal supplements[/url], which would be a great idea here too...

And Wing, I would use [url=https://www.hort.uconn.edu/Plants/j/junvir/junvir1.html]Juniperus virginiana 'Emerald Sentinel'[/url]near a house; it's a very fastigiate selection on ERC...

Good Luck!

HG

If I topdress, how much of the current soil should I remove from the top of the existing surface? I ask this because my area has alot of clay and when the contractor dug the hole he refilled over it using the same dirt which had some clay in it.

Where can I pick up some Plant Success or Great White? Should I try the Gel or Tablets?

Thanks,

Sir Swift

[The Helpful Gardener]

Either or Swifty; it's not the delivery but the content that matters here. Whichever suits you better...

Don't remove any soil; just mulch on about an inch (an inch won't change the root depth significantly but will provide enough innoculation of bacteria, fungii and protozoa to start the rhizosphere back to healthy...

HG

[Sirswift]

Either or Swifty; it's not the delivery but the content that matters here. Whichever suits you better...

Don't remove any soil; just mulch on about an inch (an inch won't change the root depth significantly but will provide enough innoculation of bacteria, fungii and protozoa to start the rhizosphere back to healthy...

HG

OK...so mulch not compost? Do I use just plain old pine mulch or cedar mulch? Do I apply the compost and then the mulch?

Thank you. Sorry for so many questions.

Sir Swift

[The Helpful Gardener]

No Swifty, you mulch with compost. It incorporates with the soil and acts in the same manner as the wood mulches. There are lots of other mulches rather than wood, and we like compost for about everything. Keep your carbon onsite!

HG