Korean Hornbeam Sun Damage or Underwatering?

[Africanherbman]

Yesterday I noticed the leaves on my Korean Hornbeam having crinkled up a bit. I have not been protecting it from the sun and it gets full sun from midday to the evening. It was relatively hot yesterday for San Francisco, but still only 72 F at the hottest. I am putting together a shade and wind protection structure right now but I just want to ask, are do these guys need protection even at the relatively low temp of 72 F? Or did I likely just underwater? The leaves are also still young and have not hardened off yet as far as I can tell, they're still lime green, so maybe that is it? Would hardened off leaves be able to stand up to that kind of sun? Or again, did I just underwater?

Also, I put it into the shade yesterday when I noticed this, and it is still in the shade. Any suggestions on how I should go about helping it recover? Should I leave it in shade for a few more days, or a week?

 

[penumbra]

I'm just not seeing it. Looks like mine and I have 6 of them.
They should take full sun with no problem this time of year.

 

[Africanherbman]

I'm just not seeing it. Looks like mine and I have 6 of them.
They should take full sun with no problem this time of year.

I circled a couple of them that I am talking about. I could've sworn they were flatter before yesterday. If they actually are fine then that'd be a relief!

Thanks!

 

[penumbra]

Not seeing a problem. Looks very healthy.

 

[MrWunderful]

Nothing looks wrong to me either. And around here, its the wind that does more desiccating than the heat. I live just south of you near pacifica.

 

[Africanherbman]

Hmm, guess I just don't know how they're supposed to look. But thanks guys, it's a relief.

I am building a structure to protect my trees from wind for sure, as it can get quite windy here.

At what temp though should I start worrying about putting hornbeams in the shade or providing shade cloth? Here it will get over 80 F maybe only a dozen days a year, and over 90 F maybe just a couple days if that. My plan was just to bring them into the shade when it gets around 80 F.

 

[MrWunderful]

Hmm, guess I just don't know how they're supposed to look. But thanks guys, it's a relief.

I am building a structure to protect my trees from wind for sure, as it can get quite windy here.

At what temp though should I start worrying about putting hornbeams in the shade or providing shade cloth? Here it will get over 80 F maybe only a dozen days a year, and over 90 F maybe just a couple days if that. My plan was just to bring them into the shade when it gets around 80 F.

My hornbeams get full sun until 2pm, no protection otherwise. Japanese and European. I wouldn't bother with any shade cloth if I were you, just put it up against a western fence or something similar

 

[Africanherbman]

My hornbeams get full sun until 2pm, no protection otherwise. Japanese and European. I wouldn't bother with any shade cloth if I were you, just put it up against a western fence or something similar

Thanks. Also what kind of growth can I expect in terms of trunk thickness per year would you say? Pretty sure you get more sun down there in Pacifica, but I'd just like an estimate.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

The ones I work on get full sun all day. No breaks for these guys. Survival of the fittest!

Depends on a lot of things, pot size, fertilization, amount of sun.... etc. If you want it to grow fast stick it in the ground somewhere for a couple three years. Since it’s in a pot, it will grow slowly.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Africanherbman]

The ones I work on get full sun all day. No breaks for these guys. Survival of the fittest!

Depends on a lot of things, pot size, fertilization, amount of sun.... etc. If you want it to grow fast stick it in the ground somewhere for a couple three years. Since it’s in a pot, it will grow slowly.

cheers
DSD sends

I understand asking people for what kind of growth they get may be pretty much worthless because of all those variables you mentioned. But I am still curious about what is possible at least with this species that I know is considered very slow growing. I am likely going to keep it in a pot that is a little oversized. May transplant it into a colander because I hear that that might be beneficial for maximizing growth in a container, but that will probably be in a couple of years.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Hmm... well the closer you can be to simulating planting the tree in the ground, the faster it will grow. However this species calipers out at about 1/2 the speed of the other Hornbeams.

Nevertheless, this is a great type of bonsai tree, lovely leaves and trunk.... Recall that each time you move the tree to a different container the growth will take a dip for a bit.

best
DSD sends

 

[Africanherbman]

Gotcha, thanks! Yeah the foliage on these is some of my favorites of the deciduous species commonly used in bonsai. It will be worth the wait.

 

[MrWunderful]

Thanks. Also what kind of growth can I expect in terms of trunk thickness per year would you say? Pretty sure you get more sun down there in Pacifica, but I'd just like an estimate.

I would say probably only 1/8 of an inch to three eights of an inch per year. But I am trying to develop ramification, not Trunk caliper.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I don't think you can give too much sun to a spring growing KH when it has enough water. I occasionally see the 90's and never do anything but water more. I think moving trees around on whims about the weather is not useful. Trees don't move.

 

[Tieball]

I have a few Korean Hornbeam trees. They all sit outdoors, all weather, all year and the more sun I can give them they grow better. I keep them in maximum sun exposure for the entire day. The result is fabulous growth. The sun exposure also causes the trees to back bud everywhere to create ramification. I water once a day toward the late afternoon.

Mine: Full sun all day. Outdoors with no cover through the winter. No special weather cover-up. Wind does nothing to the trees.

 

[penumbra]

Mine get as much sun as I can get them for all of the reasons expressed by others. Your climate is much more even than mine. We can occasionally get below zero and over 100.
Still, I appreciate your concern but honestly, your sun, your climate are all great and I envy that.

 

[Tieball]

I had some Korean Hornbeam trees in filtered sun for a few seasons. Filtered = Dappled sun and shade mixed from high up oak trees with a sun spotting changing as the sun earth rotation changed where the sun was located. The trees hardly grew. When I moved them to full sun, maximum all-day sun, they grew strong immediately. A very healthy green and significantly more budding.

 

[Africanherbman]

I would say probably only 1/8 of an inch to three eights of an inch per year. But I am trying to develop ramification, not Trunk caliper.

That's not as bad as I was fearing.

Mine get as much sun as I can get them for all of the reasons expressed by others. Your climate is much more even than mine. We can occasionally get below zero and over 100.
Still, I appreciate your concern but honestly, your sun, your climate are all great and I envy that.

If it makes you feel any better, we are supposed to get mediocre fall colors on deciduous trees here.

The consensus seems I would really have nothing to worry about as far as sun goes here. But I am still thinking I should provide some wind protection. I believe we're a little above average as far as wind goes. Most days since I've been paying attention this year we've been getting a good few hours of around 15 miles/hr a day, and today we're getting 20+ miles/hr at the moment.

 

[Forsoothe!]

The only damage most of us expect due to the wind is the mechanical tearing leaves or ripping of edges beating against each other and twigs. There is such a thing as wind damage in which the surface erodes (for lack of better term) due hot, dry winds like the Santa Ana breezes south of you and inland from you. San Francisco weather is pretty moderate, but is drier than most people think of it, probably because it is relatively different, especially in comparison to physically close inland areas and everything to the south which is hot and dry. You are just coming out of the driest part of the year, and the winds are pretty high year-around, so you need to make sure your media will hold enough water to span your typical absence. That's of a type, and of a volume, in combination.

 

[leatherback]

what kind of growth can I expect in terms of trunk thickness per year would you say?

I am working on a KH too, trying to get it to size up, without putting it into the ground. It is true,

this species calipers out at about 1/2 the speed of the other Hornbeams.

The nice thing is, it also has very small leaves from itself, so you do not need to get a big fat tall tree to get a decent image.

Jan 2020 - Dec 2020, letting it run without trimming, fertilizer ever 3-4 weeks. Sun till 2PM. In a fairly small pot which this spring was one ball of roots. Trimming it back every winter, which maybe this year I won't (Actually, might plop it into a bigger pot next winter)




Getting up tp 2ft extension in one season..