AusBonsai

Hi guys,
I've got a few shimpakus in different soil mixes that have recently developed purple'ish colored tips. some tips have turned brown. I'm not sure what's going on.
Some are in akadama/pumice/scoria mix, organic nursery soil and pine bark/river sand mix.

Over watered? fungal? mites?

Not sure where you are but the purplish colour is generally related to cold conditions (i.e: winter) so not much to worry about on that front, assuming you have seen conditions in your area becoming colder recently.

When did you bend? There’s a huge split near your thumb? I wonder if it’s not rot spreading??

The purple and bronzing is a sign of frost exposure. If you look on the undersides of the apparent frost damage it should be a lot greener.

The browning is possibly the result of a fungus.

Do you use copper fungicide?

Don’t know what it is but had the same issue a year or so ago and lost three branches... they just stopped growing went purple and brown abd just dedicated out. Read that it might be. Fungus and cut out those branches, cleaned out leaf litter and watered and fertilized well and the tree is healthy now, been a year And a bit now.

I noticed some white fungus or mites too man.

Jet them off.

Hi guys, thanks for your input.

I live in Melbourne. I have about 15 shimpakus. I’m not very well versed in the Kishu vs itoigawa variants. But it seems only 3 trees are affected by this discolouration. The rest of them are lush green.

And yes I’m aware that they change colour when the temperature drops. But when it does happen, it usually takes a brown tinge.
I have those trees a copper sulphate spray the week before. Should be due for another one this week and I’ll have to keep them out of the rain for a bit. I don’t suppose copper sulphate deals with mites right?

The attach images are some other branches on the same tree.

Do you have overall photos of the affected trees?

Can you take photos of the underside of the pads of the trees?

Each tree changes a different shade during cold.

I I’m agine there’s small genetic differences and micro climate factors. Some of mine which are propagated from the same tree go purple and others go brown. God knows why.

I haven’t seen much itoigowa in Victoria. You know it’s real when you see and touch. A lot is sold as such but I think it’s Kishu, Blauww or some other type of chinensis.

Tree 1

tree 2

Tree 3