Thank you for sharing and showing your experience. You are pushing and that is noticed. Keep trying and I hope you are having fun with the experience. Learning is always rewarding. Stay well and remain positive.
Hello, from oak ridge TN (near Knoxville). I really appreciate appreciate all the detail on your evergreens. I am currently shopping evergreens for my house, and was very interested in seeing how your plants and trees did for the freeze, so I don't waste time buying stuff that won't do well. I'm working on screening the perimeter of my property. Hey, just a note, not sure if you ended up getting rid of your osmanthus but if it's osmanthus fortunei, it does fine. I've had mine 8 years, and it only defoliated once in the previous winter (2022). I was so sad because it never defoliated before so I thought it died, but in spring, it flushed back out completely with no stem dieback at all. Also, I can't remember if you had elaeagnus silverthorn, but I think you did, that will also flush right back out with no stem dieback. Mine has never defoliated , but did lise a little bit of leaves in the previous winter (2022 winter). I'm in 37830 and I think I'm actually a little colder than you. Anyway, I subscribed to your channel, and appreciate your plant updates.
Thanks for watching! Yes, i did have osmanthus fortunei but it was frozen to the ground 2 winters in a row so i gave up on it. Now i just have regular osmanthus heterophyllus, which should do better. And yes, i have elaeagnis as well... i really like those.
I was a little colder but not much and it wasn't for very long. The vortex from two years ago was two weeks long I think and did a lot more damage. I only covered a few things that were fairly recently planted. The Aleppo pine looks the worst of anything. Cedrus Divinely Blue seems to have a low tolerance for cold and got scorched again. Feelin Sunny looks a bit worse for wear. We'd had a good amount of rain just before the cold snap and I think there was less wind this time or at least wind for less time, which helped a lot. This el nino year is keeping my ground pretty saturated. I love not having to use the sprinkler in winter but I'm a bit worried about too much water. Gotta complain about something!
Glad to hear your collection made it through relatively unscathed! I am very wary of deodar cedar these days... The only cultivars i would consider planting are karl fuchs and eisregen. And deodars do prefer good drainage, in my experience.
My yoshino cryptomeria got a bit more bronzed than last year, but seems to have survived -7F relatively unscathed. We had some extremely wet and heavy snow that nearly bent it in half and it's been fun watching it slowly straighten itself over the course of about two weeks as the snow melts. It might just be my imagination, but it also seems to be greening slightly already with all the rain and above freezing temperatures we've had lately. I'll give you another update in the spring.
Glad to hear it! I wish we had snow during our extreme cold event in December 2022, but it was dry, windy, and sunny... and the cryptos all died. Where are you growing yours?
Southwest Michigan, Zone 6A. All the local nurseries had never heard of Japanese cedar and a few even tried to tell me it wouldn't survive, so I had to order it online. I did some research and found an old Japanese forestry journal that claims it is hardy down to -27C when fully hardened. The problem is that it is slow to harden in the fall and winter so it can easily be damaged or killed by a sudden extreme cold snap. I'm lucky to be close enough to Lake Michigan for it to act a bit like the Sea of Japan in moderating the cold fronts, so usually by the time the really cold air gets here the tree has had enough time to fully harden.
@@mattanderson3452 Good intel... Yes, that proximity to the lake does seem like a huge benefit for the cryptomeria. How much trouble have you had with blight?
I noticed a few brown tips in the late summer and fall, mostly on older growth, but it doesn't seem to be affecting new growth in any appreciable way. It seems to start growing spring, slow down a bit in summer, and then go through another spurt of growth in the fall. Gained about 2 feet in the first year in the ground. Something to keep an eye on though.
Also, I think your Araucarioides cultivar is probably still alive because it has taken on a sort of purplish hue as opposed to simply brown. I don't really know the chemistry, but there's some sort of reaction that occurs when UV light hits the needles that produces anthocyanin pigments. It's probably a similar process to the Burkii red cedar.
I'm in the same area an didn't take chances with my Hinoki Cypress or Cryptomeria, I had them all covered. I left all of my japanese holly that froze back to the ground last year uncovered and they pulled through undamaged (‘compacta' ‘Soft touch’ and '‘Hoogendorn’). Almost no damage on the Nellie Stevens hollies that took a beating last year. The japanese boxwoods look good too. All of my spruces (orientalis and norway varieties) seem untouched, as do the pines (japanese black, white and red pines, plus eastern white pines). On the whole it looks like a lot less damage than last year.
@@moseseisley557 Yea I did. I am taking my chances with a couple of inexpensive, fast-growing varieties (black dragon, globosa nana, and yoshino). I'm trying to have a diverse collection and didn't want to write them off entirely since our summer climate already limits the number of conifers one can consider growing here. We'll see how they end up doing long-term. There were a lot of really large (40ft+) cryptomeria around Nashville that died in the freeze, which suggested to me that it was probably a really exceptional occurrence or they never would have gotten so large.
@@nathanschley2088 Agreed, it was an exceptional freeze. Honestly, i was a little relieved though because i was constantly worrying about the extensive foliage death due to cercospora on my cryptomerias. I have a sprinkler system and it spreads water molds like wild fire.
Would don't you mulch for plants? Mulch has so many benefits including temperature control, plants will do much better as long as you don't cover the root flare.
True, but i have a big problem with fungus in my ward and i think mulch would only feed the problem. That's why i'm installing rock mulch. If they die from cold, i will try a new species.
Cincy Tropics recent video showed osmanthus in Cincinnati Ohio and it looks a little better than your specimen after the engineered cold spell. I wouldn't give up on it yet.
Thank you for sharing and showing your experience. You are pushing and that is noticed. Keep trying and I hope you are having fun with the experience. Learning is always rewarding. Stay well and remain positive.
Hello, from oak ridge TN (near Knoxville). I really appreciate appreciate all the detail on your evergreens. I am currently shopping evergreens for my house, and was very interested in seeing how your plants and trees did for the freeze, so I don't waste time buying stuff that won't do well. I'm working on screening the perimeter of my property. Hey, just a note, not sure if you ended up getting rid of your osmanthus but if it's osmanthus fortunei, it does fine. I've had mine 8 years, and it only defoliated once in the previous winter (2022). I was so sad because it never defoliated before so I thought it died, but in spring, it flushed back out completely with no stem dieback at all. Also, I can't remember if you had elaeagnus silverthorn, but I think you did, that will also flush right back out with no stem dieback. Mine has never defoliated , but did lise a little bit of leaves in the previous winter (2022 winter). I'm in 37830 and I think I'm actually a little colder than you. Anyway, I subscribed to your channel, and appreciate your plant updates.
Thanks for watching! Yes, i did have osmanthus fortunei but it was frozen to the ground 2 winters in a row so i gave up on it. Now i just have regular osmanthus heterophyllus, which should do better. And yes, i have elaeagnis as well... i really like those.
Thanks for the update!
I was a little colder but not much and it wasn't for very long. The vortex from two years ago was two weeks long I think and did a lot more damage. I only covered a few things that were fairly recently planted. The Aleppo pine looks the worst of anything. Cedrus Divinely Blue seems to have a low tolerance for cold and got scorched again. Feelin Sunny looks a bit worse for wear. We'd had a good amount of rain just before the cold snap and I think there was less wind this time or at least wind for less time, which helped a lot. This el nino year is keeping my ground pretty saturated. I love not having to use the sprinkler in winter but I'm a bit worried about too much water. Gotta complain about something!
Glad to hear your collection made it through relatively unscathed! I am very wary of deodar cedar these days... The only cultivars i would consider planting are karl fuchs and eisregen. And deodars do prefer good drainage, in my experience.
My yoshino cryptomeria got a bit more bronzed than last year, but seems to have survived -7F relatively unscathed. We had some extremely wet and heavy snow that nearly bent it in half and it's been fun watching it slowly straighten itself over the course of about two weeks as the snow melts. It might just be my imagination, but it also seems to be greening slightly already with all the rain and above freezing temperatures we've had lately. I'll give you another update in the spring.
Glad to hear it! I wish we had snow during our extreme cold event in December 2022, but it was dry, windy, and sunny... and the cryptos all died. Where are you growing yours?
Southwest Michigan, Zone 6A. All the local nurseries had never heard of Japanese cedar and a few even tried to tell me it wouldn't survive, so I had to order it online. I did some research and found an old Japanese forestry journal that claims it is hardy down to -27C when fully hardened. The problem is that it is slow to harden in the fall and winter so it can easily be damaged or killed by a sudden extreme cold snap. I'm lucky to be close enough to Lake Michigan for it to act a bit like the Sea of Japan in moderating the cold fronts, so usually by the time the really cold air gets here the tree has had enough time to fully harden.
@@mattanderson3452 Good intel... Yes, that proximity to the lake does seem like a huge benefit for the cryptomeria. How much trouble have you had with blight?
I noticed a few brown tips in the late summer and fall, mostly on older growth, but it doesn't seem to be affecting new growth in any appreciable way. It seems to start growing spring, slow down a bit in summer, and then go through another spurt of growth in the fall. Gained about 2 feet in the first year in the ground. Something to keep an eye on though.
Also, I think your Araucarioides cultivar is probably still alive because it has taken on a sort of purplish hue as opposed to simply brown. I don't really know the chemistry, but there's some sort of reaction that occurs when UV light hits the needles that produces anthocyanin pigments. It's probably a similar process to the Burkii red cedar.
I'm in the same area an didn't take chances with my Hinoki Cypress or Cryptomeria, I had them all covered. I left all of my japanese holly that froze back to the ground last year uncovered and they pulled through undamaged (‘compacta' ‘Soft touch’ and '‘Hoogendorn’). Almost no damage on the Nellie Stevens hollies that took a beating last year. The japanese boxwoods look good too. All of my spruces (orientalis and norway varieties) seem untouched, as do the pines (japanese black, white and red pines, plus eastern white pines). On the whole it looks like a lot less damage than last year.
Definitely less damage than last year. Did you re-plant cryptomeria in 2023?
@@moseseisley557 Yea I did. I am taking my chances with a couple of inexpensive, fast-growing varieties (black dragon, globosa nana, and yoshino). I'm trying to have a diverse collection and didn't want to write them off entirely since our summer climate already limits the number of conifers one can consider growing here. We'll see how they end up doing long-term. There were a lot of really large (40ft+) cryptomeria around Nashville that died in the freeze, which suggested to me that it was probably a really exceptional occurrence or they never would have gotten so large.
@@nathanschley2088 Agreed, it was an exceptional freeze. Honestly, i was a little relieved though because i was constantly worrying about the extensive foliage death due to cercospora on my cryptomerias. I have a sprinkler system and it spreads water molds like wild fire.
Would don't you mulch for plants? Mulch has so many benefits including temperature control, plants will do much better as long as you don't cover the root flare.
True, but i have a big problem with fungus in my ward and i think mulch would only feed the problem. That's why i'm installing rock mulch. If they die from cold, i will try a new species.
Cincy Tropics recent video showed osmanthus in Cincinnati Ohio and it looks a little better than your specimen after the engineered cold spell. I wouldn't give up on it yet.
My crypto turned brown here in SE Ohio zone 6a. I'm worried about it right now.
Wait until May to see if it's still alive.
Definitely wait and see! The Holden Arboretum has a few long-term Japanese cedars.
Do you have the ilex latifolia?
I tried ilex latifolia but the cold killed it.