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cercis canadensis forest pansy

richardscarol55richardscarol55 Posts: 10
in Plants
i brought one in jan and planted it out in march and because our soil is clay i put in a lot of compost .It started growing well then for some reason the small leaves died .So i put it in a very large pot they started to grow again then died off but it is growing lovely leaves from the bottom but not on the branches.Any ideas to help it's such a lovely tree and i'd like to get another one.

Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384
    I've had similar dieback and regrowth from low down on mine.  These trees are 'self pruning' in drought conditions and branches will die off to reduce water loss, so hopefully it was just the lack of water this year.  The other possibility is canker.  Either way, treatment is the same in cutting out dead wood, well back into healthy.  If it is multi-stemmed, that might mean cutting back some stems to the ground. 
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • richardscarol55richardscarol55 Posts: 10
    thank you
  • Arthur1Arthur1 Posts: 542
    This is my favourite tree and I have even seen it trained along a pergola.  It will tolerate hard pruning so check the wood for signs of damage and, if concerned, cut out any damaged or diseased wood.
  • youngalistairyoung4K0pr0XOyoungalistairyoung4K0pr0XO Posts: 27
    I have a cercis Carolina sweetheart this is the second year I've had it and it seems rather fussy on its position in the garden not helped by our swirling winds and lack of shade. I'm starting to think it's got a problem it has small leaves lack of variation being almost white and hates hot sun and wind.
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