| John, my King Red trees were very small when they died back so a "little" dieback meant the end of the plant. The plants started out only a foot or so high. I suspect that it has something to do with humidity because King Red is native to the dry regions near or in Afghanistan. Also, I believe it does very well out West, where it was introduced as a conservation plant (until it was banned for being invasive). But perhaps it would be worth a try in a soil that was very well-drained and relatively alkaline. I've seen the fruiting branches and tasted the fruit (Hector Black had some commercial samples sent, I believe, from Iran). It's quite pretty when in fruit, and tasty. Gumi does fine for me as does, of course, autumn olive. I've also grown non-King Red Russian olive, which generally does well throughout the northeast. Many people consider it to be invasive but I rarely, if ever, have seen it self-seed. Where did you get your King Red? Lee Lee Reich, PhD Books by Lee Reich: The Pruning Book Weedless Gardening Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden A Northeast Gardener's Year On May 28, 2008, at 10:44 PM, John S wrote: Lee, I am in southwestern PA. I have wondered if it could be soil pH, our unusually mild winters, delayed cool springs for the die back years, etc. A very pretty tree. At the rate this is going, I will lose the tree in the next year or two. Did you see large sections of deadwood on your die backs or did the whole tree fail at once. Here I am seeing sections of the tree just fail to leaf out at all or start then fail. |
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