Cedar Tip Moth

brad16 says...
I'm guessing your asking about a simpler way than netting the apical shoot.

That's the only real solution I've ever come across, and you'd be aware of the impracticalities of that since an investment of Red Cedar is an investment for future generations.

I'm also growing Red Cedar in the hope that some day, someone will have something special. It does concern me how future owners choose to use them, but that is something out of my control. I do it anyway because I would have appreciated someone making that investment on my behalf.

Good luck with your project.

brad16 says...
Hi Pat,

Keeping 40 odd plants together for easy maintenance is a logical thing to do, you just didn't anticipate the possibility of pests finding them and having open access.

With hindsight, it still could be a good idea to keep them all together if you still want them in pots for a while longer. If they are all together, it is easier to cover them from moths, and still have them all together for maintenance.

If you do want to plant them out, I'd suggest 5 metres would be an absolute minimum. I'm assuming with 40 odd red cedar, you'd have to have acreage, and probably have a vision of grand trees in the future.

I planted mine something like 20 - 50 metres apart, interplanted with other forest species. It depends on what you want. Do you want a stand of red cedar? With 40, you could have 5 stands of 8 trees, or 8 stands of 5 trees for example. Going this way, I'd suggest a separation of 8 - 10 metres.

5 metres would be ok for maybe the first (20??) years, but would be very crowded if you are thinking into the future for trees of grandeur, unless you are prepared to thin them out as they grow.

They can reach well over 1 metre in diameter around the trunk alone (with time obviously).

Another thing to consider is do you want to create a pure stand of the one kind of tree? I interplanted booyongs, carabeens, quandongs, figs and others. to have a more diverse forest. Also, I planted these trees in a valley, gouged out by a small, seasonal creek. These tall trees will grow up through the canopy, and will not only look amazing from the valley below, but also from the ridge above, where they will be taller than the surrounding trees (still thinking in the future).

Your plans may be completely different and for a different purpose. As a row of trees, 5 metres may be an ok distance. Otherwise I'd recommend more, with pioneer and smaller canopy species planted among them.

Red cedar are a climax species. They will be 'Forest Royalty' and out grow the others, leaving them as undergrowth dwellers (which is also cool). The pioneer species will also help protect them while they are still young from wind, sun and to some extent pests, as monocultures are susceptible to attracting more than their fair share of unwanted critters and pathogens.

I'd suggest covering them together as group in their pots, until you formulate your plan for where, and how you want them to grow.