Shimpaku - Possible diseases?

[treeman]

I'm a bit paranoid about my Itoigawa now. It's kept separate from the problem Kishus, but I noticed the growing tips were a little brown. Not sure if this is normal or not - so I took a few pictures to show.

Should I be concerned about this? Would rather treat early if needed, but will leave it alone if this is normal.

Most of the growing tips are fine, except for the ones where my fingers are holding them up in the pictures.

Finally - is any tree susceptible to disease? Or is it only "weak" trees? E.g.: Does keeping up with fertiliser, water, air flow to the tree help it naturally fight off disease?

Thanks.

They are fine. Very slight brownish colour at the tip is normal. If/when they lose their gloss is the time to worry. Some trees are more susceptible than others but diseases in general are not a common problem. Good conditions and nutrition goes a long way in helping the tree keep up it's natural defenses.
As it happens I sprayed copper oxychloride today and as soon as I finished, the rain washed it all off.

[treeman]

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[SuperBonSaiyan]

They are fine. Very slight brownish colour at the tip is normal. If/when they lose their gloss is the time to worry. Some trees are more susceptible than others but diseases in general are not a common problem. Good conditions and nutrition goes a long way in helping the tree keep up it's natural defenses.
As it happens I sprayed copper oxychloride today and as soon as I finished, the rain washed it all off.

Thank you. I'm a naturally anxious person so this forum and the sage advice have been great.

I just ordered copper oxychloride yesterday, I'll probably buy some Mancozeb and Mavrik soon as well.

I don't like the idea of spraying chemicals, but the idea of losing trees is even more distasteful.

[TimS]

Definitely get yourself a respirator and appropriate filters, gloves and eye protection too. I’d be using a spray suit as well while using those at work ( we use both Mavrik and mancozeb among many others) though granted we spray in the hundreds of L

[SuperBonSaiyan]

No use recommended concentrations but test first. Definitely get rid of aphids. Maveric insecticide was used for aphids by a commercial fern grower I knew and he reported no damage from that so it must be quite safe.

ALWAYS use pesticide/fungicide/herbicide at recommended concentrations.
Diluted insecticides/herbicides,fungicides can allow some resistant pests to survive and breed. That's where chemical resistance comes from.
Stronger than recommended use may damage the plants.

I just received my packet of Copper Oxychloride today and I'm quite confused...

On the packet is a broad range of crops... Do bonsai (specifically Kishu, Itoigawa) fall under ornamental?

If so, the packaging says to apply 3g per litre of water, but, it doesn't list the disease under ornamental (Treeman, you mentioned possibly blight).

Under Peas, it does list blight (Ascochyta blight and bacterial blight), and the recommended dosage is 5g per 2 litres of water.

Not a huge difference in concentration (5g vs 6g per 2L of water), but I wanted to check first to see... 1g could make all the difference between a dead plant and a plant that survives. Especially because I'll be using this as a preventative on most / all of my shimpakus, I wanted to be as sure as possible.

Am I dosing according to the disease (blight), or am I dosing according to the crop (ornamental is my best guess)?

Thanks - hope the long-winded question makes sense. (If it helps, the Copper Oxychloride I have is Amgrow, and it's 500g/kg Copper present as Copper Oxychloride)

[treeman]

I doubt the copper oxy will damage the juniper. Just to be sure spray one branch and keep it out of the rain for say 2 days. If no damage, (any type of burning) spray freely. Use the lower concentration and perhaps add a bit of wetting agent as the juniper has waxy leaves. 2 drops of dish washing liquid/L would be enough if you don't have wetta soil.

[SuperBonSaiyan]

I doubt the copper oxy will damage the juniper. Just to be sure spray one branch and keep it out of the rain for say 2 days. If no damage, (any type of burning) spray freely. Use the lower concentration and perhaps add a bit of wetting agent as the juniper has waxy leaves. 2 drops of dish washing liquid/L would be enough if you don't have wetta soil.

I've got the wetta soil on your recommendation. Worked wonders, the water just seeps right in to the soil now.

How much wetta soil would you add to a 1L sprayer? Just a few drops I'm assuming.

[SuperBonSaiyan]

No clear days without rain in Melbourne for at least another week... Meanwhile the shimpaku in question continues to brown off

[SuperBonSaiyan]

A tree i have has orange coloured foliage on one side.

I've taken pictures of both sides to show the difference, one side is a healthy green. The other side is a concerning orange/rust colour.








I note that the new growth tips are green though. Does this mean it's an old issue, as the new tips are growing healthily?

Is this a disease? Is it something that needs to be treated and if so, what is your recommended treatment (cut it off? Spray it?)

Thanks.

[Daluke]

Tough to diagnose -

What’s the soil like? Anything too organic and mucky has caused this in some trees.

Has it spread? Maybe just pluck off and see in a few days.

What kind of fertiliser do you use? Cheap chemical pellets break down quickly in the heat and overload the tree.

There’s a shedding of leaves in summer. Some browning and dropping is normal

[Promethius]

Had you been wiring recently? May have disrupted the live vein while bending, or possibly damage to foliage from handling. In which case it shouldn't spread!

[SuperBonSaiyan]

No wiring on the tree, but the soil quality isn't my usual mix, it's whatever was in the nursery pot, which appears to hold quite a lot of moisture.

I can't wait for repotting time... These are so heavy to lift right now and I have no idea what the root health is like.

I've heard shimpakus can be repotted around Easter, is that correct/advisable? Or should I just wait till spring?

[Daluke]

Where are you located?

Melbourne - I’d say you’d be okay year round.

As long as you keep up the misting and minimise root trims.

It’s not optimal but, if you are sure the soil is mucky may pay to consider. If you pull it up from the pot you’ll know. It can be put back in whole if the mix is alright

[Promethius]

I would personally do it pretty happily now. I would try to avoid reducing the roots substantially. Be mindful of keeping up your watering – La Niña looks to have left the building and hot dry Melbourne is back.

[SuperBonSaiyan]

Where are you located?

Melbourne - I’d say you’d be okay year round.

As long as you keep up the misting and minimise root trims.

It’s not optimal but, if you are sure the soil is mucky may pay to consider. If you pull it up from the pot you’ll know. It can be put back in whole if the mix is alright

Yep, based in Melbourne.

So essentially a very careful slip pot, removing most of the old soil?

Then, come springtime, a full repot with reduction of roots?

Would this approach be okay within one season?

My first priority is survival of the tree.