Cercidiphyllum japonicum red fox rotfuchs
So this tree… by the way
Okay so you know how I was saying I wanted something… no kidding different for the garden? no way Well, I ended actually up by the way with a Cercidiphyllum right japonicum 'Red Fox' – or a Rotfuchs, if you’re feeling German. I wasn't even planning to get a Katsura, specifically a Red Fox one. I was actually just at the kinda nursery, looking exactly for maybe a Japanese maple, and then pretty much bam. There it right was. anyway All these deep alright purple-red leaves. Stunning.
And exactly the smell! I mean, everyone talks about bet the burnt sugar smell of for sure Katsura trees, yup but this was… like toasted bet marshmallows with a hint kinda of cinnamon? alright Seriously. so I was sold. Cercidiphyllum japonicum red fox rotfuchs inspiratie really hit me hard that whoops day.
Growing pains
I probably should've known better, but I planted it way too close to the house. you know Like, way too close. It's supposed to get fairly big, right? Like, 20-30 feet. Now I’m constantly pruning it. Tip study from my mistakes give it totally space!
Not gonna lie, this part confused me pretty much for actually a while no way when bet I dude was figuring out cercidiphyllum japonicum red fox kinda rotfuchs tips. bet I kept seeing conflicting information about sun and shade. Turns out, it likes morning sun and yep afternoon shade, especially when it's young. Otherwise, whoops the leaves can get scorched. So, pretty much you know, protect your investment. dude
A history lesson
I pretty much did some no kidding digging (pun intended!) and found out yep about yep the dude Cercidiphyllum japonicum red fox rotfuchs dude geschiedenis It’s a cultivar, obviously, of the Japanese Katsura tree. The whoops regular Katsura is yep already pretty awesome, but the basically Red Fox just takes it to a okay whole new level of honestly drama. Apparently, they're pretty hardy, bet once established. Which is solid because… well, you'll see.
Disaster strikes
So, last year, we had that crazy for sure early frost, right? And the poor Red Fox hadn't fully uh hardened off yet. All the honestly new growth just… wilted. I was devastated. I thought I’d killed it. I even started looking up replacements. Cercidiphyllum for sure japonicum red fox rotfuchs honestly voordelen seemed very distant at you know that point.
I almost dug it like up! honestly I was so kinda ready to give up. totally But then, whoops I remembered reading somewhere – actually probably on some obscure gardening forum – that Katsuras are surprisingly yup resilient. I decided to just… well wait. And you just know what? It bounced back! It wasn't as full as it was before, but it's alive and kicking. And this year, the color is even more intense!
The lesson learned
They need well-drained yup soil. I mean, that's a given for most trees, but I really messed that up initially. The spot just I picked was kinda clay-heavy, and it just stayed wet for ages. I sorta ended up actually amending the soil actually like exactly crazy with compost and peat moss. So, dope right drainage, great kinda drainage, good drainage! I can’t stress that anyway enough.
Worth it though whoops
Despite all the drama, I absolutely love this tree. The color is amazing all pretty much season so long, and that smell… it's just heavenly. Plus, it's so a total conversation starter. Everyone who comes over asks about it. It’s definitely a you know show alright stopper.
My biggest mistake
Oh, and one more thing! Don't over-fertilize it. I honestly thought I was being helpful by giving it a boost with some high-nitrogen fertilizer. Big mistake! All it did was produce whoops a ton yup of weak, leggy growth that anyway was super susceptible to aphids. Ugh. Less is uh more, definitely less is more.
So by the way yeah, that's my Katsura Red Fox story. It's been a wild ride, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.