I repotted a Dawn Redwood and it died

Solidbass

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First post!

So I repotted my Dawn Redwood I've had for 3 years now and over the course of a few weeks shriveled up and died. I kept it watered and out of direct sunlight after the repot. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.
 

Dav4

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First post!

So I repotted my Dawn Redwood I've had for 3 years now and over the course of a few weeks shriveled up and died. I kept it watered and out of direct sunlight after the repot. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.
Without knowing facts like where you are, the overall health of the tree prior to the re-pot and whether it was in leaf or not, the soil the tree was in, how you did the re-pot/how much root was removed/new soil mix, your aftercare, etc., no one can really help.
 

GGB

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If the tree was already leafed out and then you repotted it, that makes sense. Normally you repot before bud break. If that's the case the tree is probably alive but very weak, and may leaf out a second time. If you repotted while it was dormant and then it leafed out and later shrveled up it sounds liek it could be dead
 

Solidbass

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Without knowing facts like where you are, the overall health of the tree prior to the re-pot and whether it was in leaf or not, the soil the tree was in, how you did the re-pot/how much root was removed/new soil mix, your aftercare, etc., no one can really help.

Yes it had leafed out already. The tree was healthy but was in desperate need of a repot. Soil was a mix of coco coir and diatomaceous earth. I root pruned pretty hard probably taking off around 75% of the mass. There were a ton of roots. After the repot I trimmed some foliage kept the soil moist and kept the tree out of direct sunlight inside.

If the tree was already leafed out and then you repotted it, that makes sense. Normally you repot before bud break. If that's the case the tree is probably alive but very weak, and may leaf out a second time. If you repotted while it was dormant and then it leafed out and later shrveled up it sounds liek it could be dead

Ok this is what I thought originally but I have seen so much conflicting information on the web about when to repot I figured it didn't matter too much.
 

Dav4

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An aggressive re-pot while in leaf could certainly cause the foliage to brown out, as GGB mentioned. I'm not sure why you'd bring the tree inside, though.
 

Solidbass

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An aggressive re-pot while in leaf could certainly cause the foliage to brown out, as GGB mentioned. I'm not sure why you'd bring the tree inside, though.


I live in an apartment so my usual course of action is take the tree out of cold storage let it bloom inside for a couple weeks then put it outside. This year I waited a couple weeks then repotted and waited for her to recover and figured keeping her inside would be a good idea. I live in southern NH so timing when the frost ends can be tricky.
 

Dav4

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I live in an apartment so my usual course of action is take the tree out of cold storage let it bloom inside for a couple weeks then put it outside. This year I waited a couple weeks then repotted and waited for her to recover and figured keeping her inside would be a good idea. I live in southern NH so timing when the frost ends can be tricky.
I understand the need to avoid freezing temps after trees have broken dormancy and/or have had root work done, but moving trees inside and leaving them there for an extended period, either to force an early bud break, or protect from cold weather, is never a good idea, particularly in your climate. I'd want my trees dormant as long as possible.
 

Solidbass

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I understand the need to avoid freezing temps after trees have broken dormancy and/or have had root work done, but moving trees inside and leaving them there for an extended period, either to force an early bud break, or protect from cold weather, is never a good idea, particularly in your climate. I'd want my trees dormant as long as possible.

Good to know. Thought I was doing the right thing trying to get a head start on the growing season. So it seems like I if I aggressively prune roots on a deciduous tree I need to do it before the buds burst and keep it outside because it's a tree and it's acclimated to being outside. Thanks a ton for your help by the way. I feel like so much of the bonsai info online is either lazy or downright wrong.
 

Dav4

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Good to know. Thought I was doing the right thing trying to get a head start on the growing season. So it seems like I if I aggressively prune roots on a deciduous tree I need to do it before the buds burst and keep it outside because it's a tree and it's acclimated to being outside. Thanks a ton for your help by the way. I feel like so much of the bonsai info online is either lazy or downright wrong.
Fwiw, all deciduous trees are not created equal. I can aggressively root prune a maple with 4-6 inch long extensions and they will generally not skip a beat... do this with a deciduous conifer and you're asking for trouble.
 

B.uneasy

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Did it ever end up pushing new leaves as said previously in this thread?
 
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