Fotis,

Great looking 'Ogon'.

Take it off the stake. The trunk thickness is adequate for it to stand on its own.

Thanks for posting.

Dave

Thank you Dave. I let it go off the stake once a month and observe how she stands. We have many windy days, even at 40 mph north winds and she is standing very exposed. So when I let her off the stick she bends a lot towards south. Do you think that if I let her go she will straighten up on her own??
My plan is to take her off the stake as soon as I see that the first 6 feet are rock solid. I'm about at 3 feet now.

Best regards,
Fotis

Take it off as soon as it drops its foliage for the Winter. It should have put down anchoring roots after 3 years, You should be good to go unless root concerns exist, such as a damaged or malformed root system.

Hit the link.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: staking

Fotis, may I ask what country you are posting from? In any case, welcome, and please keep sharing pictures.

I bought a small 'Ogon' in spring of 2009. It has grown astonishingly fast with no supplemental watering through 3 hot, dry summers. Probably 3' a year.

Dave that's a very nice idea. With great wind resistance after the foliage has fallen she would be fine! Thank you. Haven't thought of that...

David, I'm posting from Greece. My garden is at an altitude of 2700 feet at southern coninental Greece. Zone 8a considering only low winter tempratures. My summers are milder than US zone 8 but drier and the seasons change smoothly.

Best regards,
Fotis

Fotis,

A little back ground on mine.

I planted it in 2005. I am thinking about 5 ft.(1.52 m.) tall in a #10 container. It is planted in full sun.

The first year it burned severely. All the foliage gone by late August. I figured it was a goner. I left it to see if it would come back the following Spring. It did as you can see with never any issues again.

It is now a good 30 ft.(9.14m) tall. It makes a great contrast tree when planted in front of a green back ground.

Dave

Here is a picture of the first 'Ogon' in North America, in the Barry Yinger garden in Lewisberry, PA. Looks at least 70' tall, and quite full compared to their younger appearance.

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Dave, I've been admiring your tree in every image you post of this part of your garden. Nice to know the 'come back' it had after it's first year. It makes me feel carefree for mine. Your 'Ogon' is straight as an arrow!

David, it's nice to see that 'Ogon' takes the shape and form of the species as it ages. I hope mine becomes that full in the following years. Do you know how old is that tree? Also do you have any images of yours?

Best regards,
Fotis

There's nothing remarkable about mine, just looks a little taller than yours.
Barry found 'Ogon' on one of his plant expeditions to Japan, my guess is those mostly took place in the late 1970s to the mid 1980s. I suspect the formal introduction might be a bit later because it's not listed in Jacobson's NA Landscape Trees (1996). So it's definitely rather fast growing, maybe not quite as fast as the species.

I can't wait til mine gets that big!. Been in the yard for two full growing seasons and it's still quite floppy. Maybe 3-4'. The leaders is really crooked too. The leader seems to zig-zag a bit towards the base. Hopefully this will be a non-issue as it thickens.

The 30' one is absolutely breathtaking!