Artemisia tridentata, Sagebrush

[Lou T]

I’ve got one I collected near the Grand Canyon last year. It’s set up for an exposed root display. The color is awesome but it regularly terminates foliage so it’s definitely going to be a constantly evolving piece. Cool tree and I’m excited to work with it none the less.

 

[Terilea]

I'm picking mine up tomorrow. Being in SW Michigan I think I'll keep it in my cold basement. I had a greenhouse but that first heavy snow caved it in. Had to move all those plants downstairs. Thanks for the thread on this. I was having a hard time finding info. Same ebay seller I'm sure!

 

[Forsoothe!]

OK. I have been watching the weather here in Detroit verses Flagstaff & Fredonia for a week and it's not nice anywhere, but it's colder in AZ. So now I'm convinced that treating southwestern plants like they are tropicals is a really bad idea. Except I have some Desert Cassia which have done just fine in the greenhouse for several years. I'm going to go ahead with my plan to keep Big Basin Sage on my covered porch where it will get cold as Michigan and never water it until I put it out on bench where I will never water it but it will get whatever rain we get. A tree that I never water!

 

[Forsoothe!]

My tree came in from Fredonia, AZ yesterday. This picture does not do it justice. It is striking in person with the very rugged, peeling bark and this really tall (28" above the pot) with a large, full canopy and unusual shape (to an easterner who has never seen one before) really works in its favor, in the same manner that Goshin or any large tree is striking. It looks too tall in the photo, but the full canopy is hidden, front-to-back, and so doesn't have the same impact in a photo. This is a big tree that looks like a big tree should. The funny hog-tied wiring is to compensate for nearly zero roots. It'll be out in the winds which are higher average speed winter and summer in MI, and it needs to grow maybe two full seasons of new roots to support this height. Maybe more, we'll see. Almost all the weather stats show more or less comparable climates except MI has shorter growing season, longer winter, and much more humid summers. The trees in the southwest that grow in deeper soils thrive and grow twice as tall as those in rocky crevasses. I will cover half the pot with black plastic to reduce the amount of rain or snow that it will get until it goes out to a spot in the open. It will spend the winter (dry) season on the south edge of my covered porch where it will get some south wind blown rain and snow and pretty good winter sun, but no straight down rain or snow. The pot will be trapped by bricks to keep it stable. MI winter storms tend to be northerly, northeasterly or northwesterly so it won't get much wetting. That's the plan.

Post #81 is a unusual species in a striking design that I'm drawn to, and I may try to do this in a similar way. All I have done so far is to edit the dead twigs and repot into a pot it can grow in for several years. This tree cost $101 total and I consider it a real bargain.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Here's a better shot of the canopy and winter quarters.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Here's more views of the whole tree....

 

[Forsoothe!]

Alert for exotic tree lovers: Big Basin Sagebrush on Ebay. I bought one and I see a couple more that have even better forms than the one I have.

 

[penumbra]

Alert for exotic tree lovers: Big Basin Sagebrush on Ebay. I bought one and I see a couple more that have even better forms than the one I have

I bought one of these and I think it came in dead and is dead. It also came in a ceramic bowl with no hole. I have it in a cool area that ranges from about 35 to 50 degrees at present. Guess I will know come spring but I am pretty certain it is not alive.
Also, I do not believe the seller is keeping them in pots for awhile as he claims because he is forever turning up with new ones. I think he goes out and digs one, puts it in a pot with sand and sells it.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I bought one of these and I think it came in dead and is dead. It also came in a ceramic bowl with no hole. I have it in a cool area that ranges from about 35 to 50 degrees at present. Guess I will know come spring but I am pretty certain it is not alive.
Also, I do not believe the seller is keeping them in pots for awhile as he claims because he is forever turning up with new ones. I think he goes out and digs one, puts it in a pot with sand and sells it.

Mine is out on my back porch, as described above. I repotted it in damp medium and haven't watered it. I have monitored the weather daily in Fredonia, AZ where the collector lives and 7,000 feet elevation Flagstaff the level it was growing. So far there isn't much difference except the lows there have been lower. Did you buy it from the same seller? I find it hard to believe anyone who knows how these grow would put it in a pot without a drainage hole.

 

[penumbra]

Yes, same seller. I will post a picture of plant and pot tomorrow.

 

[oddirt]

Yes, same seller. I will post a picture of plant and pot tomorrow.

I’d demand a refund. But in case there was some kind of fluke, I just placed an order for one, myself.

Thanks, @Forsoothe! for the alert these are on eBay! I also planted a bunch of T dentata seeds hoping they’ll sprout in spring, but if the tree is legit, I won’t have to wait decades for a nice one.

Will post pictures when it arrives.

 

[oddirt]

I fell in love with these plants during a trip to the Four Corners area last year. So here's what I received from the same eBay seller deweydecimal18-5. Seems to me it's a dead piece of wood in a pot with no drain holes with dried up leaves, a torn main root with barely any roots, and dead twigs. I transplanted it into a mixture of pumice and lava. I'll hold onto it and see if it buds out but I'm not hopeful. Maybe I'll eat my words.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Again, these are plants that have a rough existence and makes a living in crevasses with one root deep enough to survive a long, dry summer. They also collect moisture for survival directly through the foliage, any time of year. Attached is my research, so far. Additional interesting info would be welcome!

On Dec. 7, I repotted mine conserving as many roots as possible, did not water it in, put it at the edge of a south-facing covered porch to receive as much winter sun as possible, but protected from too much winter moisture, receiving only slanted rain or blown snow. It looks the same today. I expect it to be growing roots right now and especially through spring. The steppes it comes from are mostly dry during summer. Michigan is an equal moisture year-around, so I think my job is exactly what I'm doing.

I lived on Blackwood Ave. more than 50 years ago. I would advise you to repot as best you can put it where it gets as sunny and hot as possible, like at the foot of a south/south-west facing wall and sink the pot if practical, and water it any 3rd day without rain. And, repeat after me. "Our Father, who art in heaven...

 

[oddirt]

Sweet! Thank you for the sage advice. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.