AusBonsai

Good Afternoon all,

I recently purchased a Cedric Atlantica to put in the ground and thicken up.

But before I put it into the ground I wanted to have a look at the trunk line and the like. So, in my great wisdom I decided to defoliate it... Was this a massive mistake and will it survive?

Cedrus don't usually bud from bare wood but they can still sprout if there are still buds or healthy needles.
I can still see plenty of green shoots on that tree so you did not actually defoliate the tree. More like pruned it back a bit. This should still grow back just fine from the shoots you have left on it.

My opinion is that it will live. These are quite slow in getting thicker trunks so ground growing is OK. That is not quite defoliation but you did give it a good hair cut. I wrote about a type of defoliation on ceders on my blog last year and I really need to do a follow up, however I can tell you the tree is fine and growing well.

Thanks for the quick responses. I’ve still gotta learn the correct terminology clearly. I will have to check out your blog and get some ideas.

Poor Cedric looks thoroughly plucked, but not terminal as stated above.

Note for future. If you want to fatten up a tree it is best to leave many branches to grow and thicken.
Grant

Thanks for the tip Grant. I am very new to this so no doubt I will make mistakes but I’m hoping with much reading I can minimise those.

And I just realised that when typing on my iPad I need to remember to check that autocorrect doesn’t change Cedrus to Cedric!!