Chinese Pistache Question - Color Performance

rwebb6

I live in Northern California and planted a Chinese Pistache in my backyard in May '08. I was very disappointed w/ the (lack of) Fall color last year but chalked it up to the tree being newly planted and young - it never turned anything but various shades of brown before the leaves fell off. At the time I purchased the tree I was unaware of the Keith Davey variety and have since confirmed that the tree we have is NOT that variety (unfortunately); I have also confirmed that our tree is male. My concern is that I have seen other very young trees w/ rather impressive fall color and I can't help but wonder if we have a 'dud' in terms of color performance. I'm going to give it one more Fall season but if it does not produce significant color this year I am tempted to pull it out while it's still young and purchase a Keith Davey variety since the whole point of planting this particular tree was to enjoy the brilliant fall color. I would appreciate any input/advice on this matter.

BruceLee

I just planted some Keith Davey's in spring `10. They are just starting to color and Im really anxious to see if they blaze!
I had the same problem you are having with some Red Maple's I planted in spring '08. They would just go from green to brown and it wasn't pretty. This year however they looked great. Lots of red. I don't know if its because of the cooler than avg. summer or if it is because I lowered the pH (sulfur dust) of the soil which might have freed up some minerals that they needed to produce their color. My soil is high pH and maples like a more neutral to low pH.
Your soil might not have the ideal pH for your tree to produce its color. Adjust it so that it is. It is worth a shot in my view.