Eastern Hemlock - Increasingly Low Vigor

[cheap_walmart_art]

Hello nuts!

It’s been awhile since I’ve had an issue with a tree that wasn’t clearly my fault and I’m at a bit of a loss here and hoping some of you who have grown this native species might have advice.

This is a collected Eastern Hemlock pulled from the smokies around 2019. I repotted it into its current pot in 2023. It grew great throughout that season, budding everywhere. Last year it grew, but not nearly as vigorously.

2022:


2023 after repot.




Mid year 2023


2024 - I thinned it out a bit in 2024 to try to get more light to the interior. I was concerned those middle smaller branches were getting too shaded out.






And now here we are in 2025

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

Some more details in 2025:

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

I normally keep it in full sun in the spring time and transition it to 30% shade cloth in summer. I have gone ahead and moved it to a position where it will get morning sun then bright shade the rest of the day.

Over winter, I normally keep it in an unheated garage at night, moved outside in the daytime when the temps are above freezing. It’s fertilized with Dr Earth 6-6-6 and the bags are rotated every couple months in the growing season. The soil composition is 1-1-1 Akadama, Pumice, Lava.

My immediate thoughts for my problem:

1) Possibly got too dry in the winter.
2) Possible ph issue - in my research I have discovered this like acidic soil and that’s always been a problem in my garden. However my Rhodies and Azaleas seem to be ok.

 

[Dav4]

From what I've read, maintaining trees in tall, relatively narrow cascade pots can be difficult as the top level of soil dries easily while the bottom layer stays excessively wet. Also, hemlocks are very cold hardy, and your winter protection may be counter-productive as it may not have been watered appropriately and may not have received adequate winter cold to maintain a proper dormancy, and has been weakened over the last few years.

 

[rockm]

I suspect your problems are with the root mass and the container. Such declining growth says to me the roots are compromised.

Tall containers are very hard to keep trees healthy in because of the reasons mentioned.

If you can lift the tree out a bit to take a look at the root mass. Might tell you what’s up

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Does that look like some sort of canker, or are those dead buds and pollen cones?Maybe treat with some 3-1 systemic?

Counter to conventional perhaps, but I would give it more sun and a lot of organic fertilizer as well as a weak chem fertilizer to try and break the spiral.

I brought a few hemlock to the Carolinas with me as samples, and they are getting weaker and weaker from not having a long enough winter, so I would definitely keep outside for the winter.

There could be something fungal going around too though as I am seeing more decline in hemlocks beyond the dreaded adelgid.

Hope it pulls through.

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

Hmm. I wondered if the pot might not be some of the reason. What’s y’all’s opinion on slip potting it into a regular nursery container or something shallower?

 

[MrFancyPlants]

How long has it been in there?

 

[Dav4]

Hmm. I wondered if the pot might not be some of the reason. What’s y’all’s opinion on slip potting it into a regular nursery container or something shallower?

If you have a nursery container about the same height but wider, I'd go with that.

 

[rockm]

Hmm. I wondered if the pot might not be some of the reason. What’s y’all’s opinion on slip potting it into a regular nursery container or something shallower?

If you can get it into another container without too much root disturbance a shallower nursery container would be good. The height of the current pot may be the problem
If you slip pot it inspect the bottom of the root mass look for dead or dying root and remove them before the tree goes into a new container

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Just to throw another idea out there, could you put it in the ground a little more upright for recovery? Check for ants too. I had a nursery E hemlock that was real weak and I went to repot in the ground and it was crawling with ants. Oops. Not sure if it made it because I moved.

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

Alright folks. I finally got a day to look into this tree a bit further. I went ahead and got it out of the pot and everyone who said the tall skinny cascade pot was a problem was absolutely right. Basically the pot was staying completely saturated on the bottom and only drying out in the first quarter of the pot. Now that I think about it, I should have added a much taller drainage layer into the pot to account for the perched water table. Regardless, lesson learned. The roots were very much alive and I just cleaned out the tie down wires and tripped the big dead danglers. Got it into a well draining pond basket that seems the perfect size. Hopefully this hemlock comes around in the next couple seasons and returns to its naturally vigorous state.

Sorry for the pics, didn’t feel like staging or photo editing.

Here we are out of the pot. As you can see it’s barely put any roots down. I’m glad I slipped it into the pond basket.

By the way I have done nothing to the roots in this pic. That’s all it had populated in the cascade pot in two seasons!!



The sun wasn’t cooperating here but here is where it ended up. A nice basket on my recovery bench.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Do you have some tie downs in there? Maybe some big rocks in a pinch, but stabilizing real well, will make a difference.

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

Do you have some tie downs in there? Maybe some big rocks in a pinch, but stabilizing real well, will make a difference.

Yup tied in using the usual methods.