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| Heptacodium miconiodes flower and calyx |
I do love the tree, but it has a problem. It was in full bloom, looking its best, but then I saw this:
That branch is dead for no apparent reason. Clearly, this was a recent death, as there are dried buds on it. That isn't the first large branch to die this season.
The large hole is where a huge branch died. I don't know if the tree has a disease, as it otherwise appears healthy. I can cut out the dead wood and overlook the holes in the silhouette, as the merits of the tree outweigh the imperfections.
12 comments:
Are the showy red bracts after the blooms showy enough from a distance? This seems to be one of the main sales points of seven sons flower. I did see it early in leaf in a Toronto garden and the foliage looked neat (not "neat" as in '-o").
Hi MMD, my neighbor Mickey has a very large specimen of this tree/shrub. It is interesting and for a large garden is worthy of the space. I wonder why your branches are dying, though. That doesn't seem like a good thing.
Frances
ps hope your hand is better soon. I really liked your message about when you hear the beep...
I'm afraid this is one of those that has a great back story (very rare,originating from a single specimen in China) and a ho hum appearance. I've seen it in other yards, and my reaction(not spoken) is always to think of 5 other trees that would look and perform better, like e.g. coral bark maple.
I love this tree/shrub. The bark is very interesting and it does have a rather unique shape as it matures. It seems to become a bit contorted. My blooms are up too high and the hum of the bees brought it to my attention this year.
Well that's just disappointing~I've not seen this tree around here and liked what I saw in your posts~Hoping it will be 'okay' from now on...gail
MMD, that is really too bad. I wonder what is wrong with it. Maybe your county extension office?
I wonder if it could be uneven moisture? Some plants pout if they get a long drought.
MMD, Knowing nothing at all about this tree, is it truly cold-hardy here? Also, knowing that our summer was terribly wet, would that have caused problems?
Otherwise, it seems to be quite a beautiful tree! I'm going to look it up.
Ms.McG - it's always a shock when garden plants/bushes/trees are brutally attacked by some varmint or parasite... Cottony Maple Scale hit this year, in our yard.
One way to look at the 'void' where your missing branch used to be - is that it now has a more artistic character about it? Rather than symmetry - now you have asymmetry, which is very striking and draws your eye as a focal point. (Just a thought?)
I had one of these. The deer loved to eat it. The tree was removed.
Cameron
Wish I could help but have not seen this tree ever have that happen. Maybe scale? I has been bad in our area this year.
Thanks for the link, MMD; I feel bad I've gotten behind on blog reading the last few days. I don't know if I mentioned it, but it was our instructor in our MG tree class who recommended this tree. He said it was a great specimen tree because it bloomed at a different time than most, and not many people had one. I'm curious, though, what might be wrong with yours. I learned about fireblight this summer, and now I seem to notice it everywhere, but I don't know from the photos if that is the problem with yours. I hope pruning those dead branches takes care of the problem. It's too pretty a tree to lose.
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