Seeking Advice: "Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar"

[MichelleM]

Hi Members,

My Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar is very old, unfortunately neglected and has been experiencing dieback on/off for the last 15 years. Over this summer it experienced more intense dieback and parts of it look weak and unhealthy.

It has not been repotted for a few years.. is the norm still wait for late winter/early spring before bud swell to repot? It is difficult to judge drainage as the soil is very compacted. I'm guessing it may be experiencing root rot.

Any advice is appreciated.

TIA, Michelle
(Canberra)

[shibui]

Your tree may also be suffering from dehydration. One of the outcomes of being pot bound is the pot and soil is so full of roots there's not much space left for water. That makes it difficult for water to penetrate into the root ball, leaving the potting mix dry, even after being watered daily. That can mean not enough water for a hot day. Roots filling the spaces in the potting mix means no spaces left for water so even if you soak the pot it can now only hold a fraction of the water it did when freshly repotted.
We can't make a judgement on root rot or dehydration until we see the roots because above ground symptoms of both root rot and dehydration are the same.

There are a number of experienced growers who repot conifers in late summer/ early autumn. It appears to be successful but I have not tried so can't confirm.
There are also some who believe late summer repot for Cedrus is actually better than spring.

[MichelleM]

thanks for your advice.