Old Deodar Cedar for a workover

[Andrew Legg]

So folks. Here it is. An old cedar given to me by a friend at our club here in Cape Town.

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It needs a good wiring, a repot at a different angle. It has a circling root at the base which I'm considering removing etc etc. So, thoughts? Ideas? I'm all ears.

[shibui]

It is a bit hard to tell where all the branches come from but with a tree like that I think you have so many options.
Right away i think I can see:
A cascade using the lower trunk and first (back branch).
Move or remove branches going left and wire remaining branches to the right. The strongly leaning trunk looks like it would make an ideal windswept tree.
If you want ordinary repot trunk more upright and change the front s the first branch is not at the back (or remove that one). It looks like there are too many branches and probably too many close together. Removing some will give the others more chance to grow and produce ramification.

Good luck with this one. It does look like nice material whichever way you go.

[Andrew Legg]

Hi All, this tree is going slowly backwards. Very frustrating. I reported it last year and downhill since then. Looking very scraggly now. Does anyone know what solid ph deodar cedars like?

[Matthew]

Deodar are usually the hardier of most the cedar species I believe. I have deodar (8 years now ) , Lebanon cedar as bonsai and various dwarf cedars in the garden. I had them quite wet here over winter and seen no ill effects. I believe they need a fairly cold dormant period to maintain health. I dont let them dry out completely. cant help much except most of mine stay full sun except the Lebanon that seems to prefer part shade. Maybe one of the more experienced cedar growers will chirp in.

[treeman]

Who did you report it too? What did it do?
I would remove the circling root immediately (just cut off at the base without repotting) unless it's a really major one. If that's the case you may have to do it gradually over a couple of repots. I don't know why the tree is declining in vigour because I don't know how you repotted it but no doubt that has something to do with it.
I repotted about 20 cedar last month. They were in the pots about 4 years. When you need to remove quite a lot of roots or say reduce the root ball by half, I find it's best to use a smaller container so there's just enough room for the roots to fit in with about 1 inch of room all around at the most. They don't have fibrous roots and they can be left without repotting for years as long as it was done correctly in the first place.
As for shaping, there are many options but just keep in mind that cedars are not pine trees and don't grow like them. Most importantly, mature trees have flat tops and branches and this should be reflected in the shaping.
Keep us updated...

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[Andrew Legg]

Thanks Guys,

The tree had a lot of fine actively growing roots when I repotted it last in August 2016. a lot of healthy bright growing tips etc. I had to change the angle of the tree by about 30 degrees so had to take about 30% of the root-ball off to get it to fit back in the pot. The rest was left untouched. I have treated it for disease as a few of my other cedars have also taken a turn for the worse. Also, I have moved from council water to wellpoint water and I am concerned the Ph of this water may be affecting it. I will give it a good feed, add some Kelpac with rooting auxins and move it to get more sun. Fingers crossed.

Cheers,

Andrew

[shibui]

Have you checked the pH of your well water Andrew? Town water is adjusted chemically to fit into an acceptable band but untreated ground water is affected by the rocks it travels through. At our last place, after having problems with brass taps, copper hot water cylinder and pipes in the house I tested the water and found pH around 4. No wonder the copper disolved
Interesting that the trees were not really affected there. Whiter bark on maples and I could not maintain azaleas (thought they liked acid?) but everything else grew well, including cedars. I have not had alkaline water so do not know if that would affect cedar. I assume they like slightly acid conditions like pines?

Now at a different location, still using ground water but tested at pH 6.5. even azaleas grow well and no problems with taps, etc here

[Andrew Legg]

I will have to have it checked. Bigger problem here now is that we have a massive drought in Cape Town, so watering all these trees is going to be a major challenge this summer!!