Pictures of Trees Growing in NJ, NY and PA and their Diseases/Problems II

Pictures by Greyneedle. Pictures taken Late 2003 and Early 2004.

(Information Provided is for Recreational Purposes Only--No Liability Assumed) 

There are three Redwood species:
Coast Redwood (of Redwood Forest fame and lumber):  Sequoia sempervirens
Dawn Redwood (Chinese native, deciduous and similar to Bald Cypress in appearance):   Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Giant Redwood/Giant Sequoia (Big Trees of the Sierra Nevada interior, Yosemite and Sequoia Natl Park):  Sequoiadendron giganteum

In the NYC/Philly Area, Metasequoia grows easily, Sequoiadendron grows grudgingly and S. sempervirens generally
will not survive our winters. S.s. is seen growing in coastal Maryland, Virginia and DE (borderline zone 8 areas).

There are some tricks to growing Sequoiadendron in the area, so this site is dedicated to those interested.

It is important to recognize the symptoms of foliar blights on sequoias and how to treat them:

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This Giant Sequoia seedling developed a brown tinge on the upper surfaces of needles after the first frosts of the year in Oct. Might be a late season fungal infection or frost damage. Cercospora season runs from June through October, so one would need to spray during this period. Spraying for this tree ended in September, so it may very well be a slight cercospora infection. Close-up photos below.

 

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Here is a closer shot of the affected needles. Not the typical signs of disease or overwatering/underwatering damage as some of the lower branches are completely unharmed. (This happens every year and may be an indication of damage from frosts. The foliage never recovers its color during the growing season and is often lost within two years.)

 

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More of the same.

 

Here is a small Giant Sequoia 'Hazel Smith' with late in the season fungal infection, most likely cercospora. The disease can overwinter in living tissue and continue the infection the following spring, so it is important to spray early in the spring or late in the season. Sm
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Here is a photo (maybe a bit hard to see here) of the Giant Sequoia at the Reeves-Reed arboretum in Summit, NJ in January 2004. A late in the season cercospora infection has wiped out the foliage on the lower branches leaving them bare. The disease was much worse this year due to the excess rain (some 10" or 25cm above average for the year and more than 13" above average for the past 15 months). The remaining needles don't seem to be much infected, so the tree might be better in 2004. The growth on the lower branches will not return, however. (The dead lower branches were later pruned.)

 

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Here is the top of the same tree as above, but you can see that the foliage is not severely infected. However, the tree is in a significant amount of shade, so the foliage is sparse. The tree to the south should be removed or pruned. Eventually, if the tree survives it will be taller than the tree shading it and get more light. The shading probably also contributes to its disease woes.

For those interested in Douglas Firs, they do worse generally than Giant Sequoias in the area:

The year 2003 was very wet. This Douglas-Fir is sitting in a field that has relatively poor drainage. It appears to have been severely overwated by rain and is turning yellow. Other trees nearby have already died.

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As with the Douglas-Fir above this pine appears to be turning yellow from excess rain and poor drainage.

Cryptomeria japonica will also get diseases, but otherwise does well in the area:

Cryptomeria japonica ('Sugi' or 'Japanese Cedar') is a tree fairly similar to Giant Sequoia in appearance and is closely related (as redwoods go), but can develop nasty foliage blights. Here is a photo showing the effects of the blight on a tree. Though they are rarely fatally afflicted, the trees ends up messy looking. Cryptomeria cultivars range from z5 to z7, so be careful about selections. Med
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Disease updates from 2004:

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This HS developed diseased foliage during the winter. This photo was taken in Feb. or March 2004. This indicates that the disease was still active in the foliage at this time, even though the infection occurred earlier in the fall. Spraying late in the fall would help to prevent active disease states during the winter, which is a problem with Hazel Smith. (This tree never thrived in its location and was eventually removed.)

 

Here is the view some weeks later from another angle. Cercospora and phomopsis general infects lower branches first because they remain wet longer after rain or periods of high humidity. Cercospora infects older foliage first. Phomopsis infects new foliage. Phomopsis has a distinct orange tint. However, phomopsis should not be confused with late summer signs of heat stress. Watering slowing the soil around the tree can reduce heat stress foliage loss if done before the soil dries out. Sm
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The Willowwood "Hazel Smith" was doing very well in mid July. Maybe it is now growing faster than the disease is spreading. This would indicate a height of about 8' for trees to become disease chronic rather than fatal, though more observations are clearly needed.

Further Links:
Exotic Tree Home Page
Giant Sequoia Growing in NJ, NY and PA
More GS Photos in NYC/Philly Area
Photos of Area GS from Middle 2004
Photos of Area GS from Late 2004
Photos of GS Diseases
More Photos of GS Diseases
Conifer Winter Bronzing Photos
GS Photos from Other Photographers
Some Other Exotic Tree Species
Bald Cypress and Dawn Redwood Bark Photos

Germination Trials for growing by seed:
Summary of Tips for Growing GS from Seeds
Environmental Considerations
Germination Trials I
Germination Trials II
Germination Trials III
Germination Trials IV