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clady99_gw

Weeping Blue Atlas cedar need training & general advice

clady99
15 years ago

Hello, I see many informed people in this forum- im hoping for some advice.I bought a WBAC- because I thought it was the coolest cutest thing. Didnt do my research 1st- since I see many of them all over the neighborhood i assumed they were simple easy trees. So now I see they can get huge & will need some training since its right in front of the house by the walkway I cant let it get crazy. Its already serpentine about 5 - 6 feet tall. So Im wondering- If I dont stake it & train it to continue the S pattern, will it just start to grow how ever it feels, most likely straight out to the side, parallel to the ground?If I train it to keep S'ing- Can I keep doing that for as tall as it grows? it wont get too heavy or tall to keep the Serpentine shape? or will i eventually have to let it grow out, or down? Also, I see they can get very tall- I assume if it keeps the serpentine shape, this can reduce my height- for example, if it were stretched up or out it might be 15 feet but curving it it could actually only be say 10 feet? Thanks so much for the help- i love my new tree!

Comments (8)

  • Embothrium
    15 years ago

    Yes it will assume the natural habit if tying to s-shaped support not continued.

  • Embothrium
    15 years ago

    ...the new branches won't unless trained to curve unnaturally.

  • dcsteg
    15 years ago

    Most people are taken with this conifer because of its color. Because the main leader is trainable it can be made into a unique and stand out conifer.
    As this thing begins to grow it tries to resume its natural growing habit and we are left with the dilemma of what to do.
    Bamboo stakes or nursery metal stakes should be used to tie the main leader up to a desired height as subsequent growth will weep downward. They look good grown on the horizontal also as the one in the link shows. However grown you will need stakes to support it. Think about it, be imaginative and give it a go.

    Dave

    Here is a link that might be useful: Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca Pendula'

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    15 years ago

    you can do whatever you want with your tree.. its yours ... who cares what we think ...

    i am of the conifer school that works on the premise that the weirder the better ... others belong to the school that all conifers must look like xmas trees ... make your choice of which school you belong to ... and be happy ...

    conifers.. left to there own devices.. will grow in a shape wherein they develop a structure to support themselves....

    when we .. or the original grower started 'training' this weirdo into an unnatural shape ... he/we are potentially creating structural issues ...

    do what you want.. with an eye towards creating a stable tree... and you will be all set ... so stake it for training.. and for stability ....

    nothing worse.. than 5 or 10 or 20 years down the line.. the thing collapses in a storm or something.. because you made it so weird ...

    IN MY WORLD .... i would get a lot of joy out the process ... and if it made my toes curl every time i walked by it.. then i really dont care what happens in 5 or 10 or 20 years .... my happiness is worth whatever comes of it.. and if it fails.... i will gt to try again.. or try something else ...

    i look at it this way ... if i spend 200 bucks on tree ... and it lives 20 years.. will it be worth 10 bucks a year ... the price of one crumby meal.. for the excitement of walking out there everyday ... i say yes .... if it only lasts 10 ... costing me 20 bucks.. or one decent meal ... etc ...

    its your tree ... have fun with it ...

    go to google.. type in the name.. find the latin name.. paste it back.. and then go to google images.. and you will see probably hundreds of pix of this very common plant ... and see where it is going over the years.. and what you can do with it .. the sky is the limit...

    good luck

    a little zen ken today.. lol

  • clady99
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks Zen Ken- Just what I needed to hear- Im going to have fun with an eye on stability. I paid only $50 for it, so if it fails I didnt lose much, except the tree I realy liked which I can replace.

  • ninak10_optonline_net
    12 years ago

    A great friend and customer transplanted my weeping blue atlas ceder from one house to the next house . He transplanted a dwarf red japenese maple and a green japenese maple along with the blue atlas ceder those trees made it but the blue atlas ceder starting turning brown a little at a time . I want to know what I should do at this point. The tree has sentimental value to me. He wants to cut half the tree should I let him. Please advise me as to what I should do.

  • Archivesisis
    12 years ago

    When I lived in Goshen, New York, I purchased a weeping blue atlas cedar (the same day a friend of mine in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey purchased a upright blue atlas cedar) and she has had no problems with hers. They were purchased five years ago in September. The one I had cost me $400 and was a mature tree. Hers was nearly double the price, about six feet in height). Mine was about five feet in length. The problem with mine was the harsh winter. It would just recoup around September/October and then the winter would come. Each year, it got harder and harder for the tree to catch up to the winter damage. I cut off many of the branches which normally would be beautiful as they "wept" but were devoid of any greenery. It started to look as if it had surgery. The last time I saw it (before the house was sold) was in October 2011 and it had only 1/4 the amount of green on it as when it was purchased. I had an irrigation system to it. It was located six feet from our koi pond and around the pond was sunrise rock (ofcourse, it was planted in soil four+ feet round. I LOVED THE TREE and even though the one in New York was a challenge, I have purchased a very small (one footer) for my home on The Mississippi Gulfcoast (four blocks from the beach) in Gulfport and it arrived just last week and I currently have it in a container in our interior courtyard. When it warms up a bit down here (we were at 34 degrees at 5 am today) it will be placed in our front yard as I haven't seen any down here and I want it as our focal point of our garden.

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