They are both native to China however they do maybe
overlap Metasequoia is very rare in its native range.
Metasequoia should do well with you must be next to
a stream they are not as fast away from a moist site.

They're from different areas of China, Pseudolarix from eastern China, and Metasequoia from west-central China.

Resin

But what about requirements.. similar??

osprey

No, not the same; Metasequoia grows in alluvial soils with poor drainage, Pseudolarix on mountainside soils with good drainage. Summer humidity is probably fairly similar, though. Not easy to get good data from China, though!

Resin

I think I've got a nice Pseudolarix coming to me.... so they don't mind heat and humidity then?

Nate

"so they don't mind heat and humidity then?"

They love it

Resin

would their requirements rather be compared to those of A. firma?? should I give it a try

osprey

Pseudolarix is fairly similar to A. firma in requirements, though more cold-tolerant in winter (more continental climate).

Worth a try, yes, though you'll probably need to irrigate.

Resin

Thanks Resin, I do irrigate all of my trees, almost once a week, depending on the weather.
What about Cryptomeria, similar to Pseudolarix in requirements, or Metasequoia

osprey

Hey Osprey,

Here's a map for Cryptomeria japonica's range and some pretty detailed information. Metasequoia is outstanding here as is Pseudolarix so based only on this, I'd say they equal each other in tolerance to drought (same with Taxodium distichum) so I'd think you'd be successful too with Metasequoia.

Cryptomeria upon reading this fact sheet, it seems to me you'd have to plant them up high on a berm and due east facing, or just due east facing but that also, they'd do best with some protection from the summer sun. Being your're in zone 7, I don't know but I'd say you shouldn't need to worry about winter winds in combination with sun.

That's my accessment. Good luck. Then again, you're up on top of a mountain if I remember correctly so, you may get whipping cold winds, again, I don't know.

Dax

Here is a link that might be useful: IFAS Extension

Hi Dax,

Those IFAS Extn maps are useless, very poorly thought out, and based only on winter cold tolerance, with no thought given to summer temperatures or rainfall (e.g. their map shows it able to grow in some of the driest deserts in the USA, where there's no trees of any sort growing at all). I'd not give them any attention.

Resin

Well, there's some cultural information and from my accessment notes you should be able, Osprey, to draw your own conclusion. Something in the depths of my brain says you've already been told that Metasequoia won't make it where you are, but that's nothing I can say with certainty.

Being that the map shows places with a possibility of mountaneous areas with vastly differing climates and soil consistencies, you should be able to draw an accessment of your own.

The problem with Cryptomeria in the midwest is that it is fungused in our climate (hot + humid) and that winter winds and our bright sun too scare the plant's foliage if not rip it right back to the stems and you end up with a dead plant. Your climate should prove differently however.

Again good luck and let us know what you think your chances of success might be.

Dax

Thanks Resin and Dax. I do have a Metasequoia already that has put over 1m in its first year. It may not be the healthiest tree, but is still alive.

Two years ago I receive 5 Cryptomerias 'Yoshino" by mistake in one of my orders which I kept in containers. They doubled their size in one season, but in autum they developed some browning. About half of the trees branches died, and the following spring they started growing again, but this time the browning started earlier and killed them all..... is it a fungal disease?? will it happen again if I try one more??

osprey

Resin,
Metasequoia grows on sandstone soils with relatively good drainage in its natural range near the Modao river
Second, metasequoia grows too on steep slope of the valley Shuisaba.
Metasequoia is a riparian species. there are ecotypic variations in metasequoia: metasequoia in the valley and metasequoia on the slopes. They are "different"

I'd be planting a lot of Metasequoia. Your plant is game on. I'd not count on Cryptomeria though because those dang things seem to grow crappy in Washington, D.C. (saw a perfect specimen with a lot of shade though...I think it's the heat that does em in). They also get fungused here in my hot + humid climate so I don't believe they'd do good anywhere with high humidity. ...In Portland, OR (no humidity)... they are pristine. You'll find them anywhere west of the cascades and probably a little east in some areas of the northewest where the winter zonal temperatures are zone 5-6 and above. And the coniferland state that makes no sense to me which I'd love to hear why, the state of Ohio... those guys can grow anything. I just don't get it?? Right dab smack in the midwest but they can grow to perfection all the things textbooks say different about. It just makes no sense. Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, Cryptomeria, you name it, it will grow to perfection there... Pinus densiflora to perfection... It all happens there. I just don't get it.

You know, you'd be really well off to get this book (It's a two volume set. Worth every penny:

CONIFERS AROUND THE WORLD (Dendropress). It's a study of conifers in their natural climates so you can find out all the details of why and how and where they grow. Plus I remember reading that it took the author and a camera photographer over 10 years of traveling and they had some ridiculous number of photographs to sort through for the bok (supposed to illustrate incredible photography as well) like '100,000 or 1,000,000 photos'. I don't think it's possible for you to go wrong. I have yet to buy this myself but sometime I will.

So good luck. Later,

Dax

Nate, where did you get your pseudolarix? I'm having trouble finding one.

Monrovia grows and sells Pseudolarix. I bought mine from a small garden center here in Minneapolis that stocks a lot of Monrovia plants. Perhaps a local nursery that buys from Monrovia could get some for you.

GN,
Which nursery? If you don't want to post the name here, please send me an email via my "My Page".
Thanks,
Mike
tl³

conifers, IL, I have seen some fine looking Cryptomeria in the mid-Atlantic region, from central NC, to VA Beach, to Southeastern PA and central NJ. That being said, I agree that about 1/2 the time, they look terrible and I'm not sure why. I remember a very detailed article about them years ago in the Washington Post by National Arboretum botanist Scott Aker. I don't remember exactly what he said but he would probably be a good person to ask. I kept meaning to find the article or email him a question or 2 but never got around to it. I have a few of them and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that they stay healthy. They look good when young, it seems. I wonder if a long-term nutrient deficiency sets up in some of them. It's really hard to know why some look great and others don't. Soil can't be the only factor, the best looking one I ever saw was on sandy soil in Virginia Beach but I've seen fine looking ones in the western suburbs of DC on clay.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1705-2004Oct27.html

I had looked for this article a couple years ago when I bought some cryptos. but couldn't find it. The vagaries of google.

I wonder if the bad looking trees get a really bad infection of mites and just can't shake off the damage eventually. And some trees that are shaded and have access to a high water table, perhaps, never experience the drought stress the causes susceptibility to the mites. I'm not going to go look for the climate stats. but I suspect that, in addition to simply being drier than Japan for most of the year (unless you live in Brevard, NC) we are much drier in autumn, because our dry "winter monsoon" starts sooner. I think October is the lowest rainfall month for most of the mid-Atlantic & NE, and if the average is higher it is only because of the possibility of hurricanes and systems carrying tropical moisture. Some years those don't arrive of course and I remember octobers that had almost no rain. In northeastern Maryland though, last October we had over 7" of rain which helped correct our summer drought, so it's highly variable.