AusBonsai

This is the line I was referring to Brett:
But if you're certain about the DL thing, then perhaps it is something else. I hope you're able to find out 'cause I'd like to know the reason as well.

Got them on the back bench so i just went and had a look and yes that one is definitely wet. Decided to pull it out of the pot as well. It is not overly wet especially since it is Winter and we have been getting rain but there is less root growth than the other. I found that water mark a little strange. Dug a little deeper and I find that the place where the tap root was cut off is very dark possibly starting to rot. I notice that the cambium has not started to roll over to start the healing process and there is even a little peeling back of the bark at the cut. Maybe the heart wood is soaking water up the trunk causing this water mark? Apart from the water mark all the roots exiting the trunk look totally normal.
But my first thought at the moment this is a secondary condition. I have good memory of the base of the one that is much worse affected because I thought it was quite strange as well but in a totally different way. The cambium was rolling over very well and the wood left exposed was covered in a microzia looking Fungus which worried me. The wood was solid but covered in a bright white thin growth. I think it could not really be scraped off otherwise I would have. I guessed it could have just been Microzia but decided to soak in the systemic fungicide just in case.
So the worst affected one is actually going better on that tap root scar. Hope I haven't lost you there?
Not ruling it out as the cause though, as that sludge (just checked I can't find the same sludge on the water mark one Hmm) makes me wonder of a soil born pathogen. And not sure if it is the light of the flash but the picture looks nasty
Nice spot I will repot all of these fully tomorrow and take a closer look.

Maybe the heart wood is soaking water up the trunk causing this water mark?

That's a possibility I guess Brett.

Mate, keep us updated 'cause you've got me really intrigued now. As I said, Broad Leaf Privet is as tough as old boots - that's why it's now a declared weed. Be hard to kill these things with a 25lb howitzer!

By the way, did you know that you can graft the small leaf privet (Ligustrum Ovalifolia) to the Broad leaf very successfully? Graft first, cut broad leaf branches off when the others have fused.

Thought you might like to see this one - Small Leaf Privet that I grew from a cutting (photo taken in September last year):

Top still needs sorting out, but it's getting there.

Brett, thanks for the PM .
The condition does look similar to the first stage of the die back we experienced in the Bundaberg club a long time ago. After several years of training and styling tree's they would suddenly get distorted growth on branches and the branches would die back this would carry on till eventually the whole tree would die.
In the end we put it down to root rot and or letting tree's get overly root bound.
Majority of the privet that we had were collected from farming area's and in our inexperience and heist we trained and potted tree's without removing all of the original clay soil (bare rooting the tree's) we found this after removing all the roots on several dead or dieing tree's we found small pockets of clay and the surrounding roots/base, we also found privet (in the warmer climate) needed to be re-potted every year and occasional twice a year, the growth of the root systems were extreme and overly root bound trees lead to poor drainage also.

Hope this helps.

gday shann and brett,

I was reading on one of the american forums about privet as i just got sent up a couple, and was reading up a little, and one of the members from the tropical area of US had this exact problem and it come down to being so root bound why they were going down hill, as soon as he left them for to long without a repot growth was poor and some what distorted. when he repotted to tree, it bounced back.

the ones i have i will be very cautious with as i know they can get this way. but i beleive being ontop of repotting might be the answer.

Jamie.

Can I have a link Jamie?

Thanks Shannon still Digesting

will try and find it mate, gotta remember which forum it was now

brett,

it was actually only one bloke that said it, not a big discussion but here it is-

http://bonsaistudygroup.com/deciduous-b ... n-species/

it makes sense as the same symptoms have happened to you and shannon.

jamie

Thanks Jamie I was hoping for pictures but you are right it is intresting what JMac siad

I'm sure you have different growing conditions than I have, but I've found that if I don't repot ligustrums every 1-2 years, they go into decline. I don't know if it's a fungal problem, restriction of the roots they don't like, or what. But mature and healthy plants will start dropping branches and eventually die. I've learned I can't be lazy in repotting this species here.

What Shannon siad does kinda fit in with my conditions as I did not repot when I cut the trees back. But I have repotted the first privet since Hmm. Maybe I just need to remove the damaged stuff?
I also thought the collected privet could not be root bound but then I thought hey it's a privet off course it could be root bound. Looks like that one will get a work over today as well.

Thanks for the Info Shannon I will definatly be giving this plenty of thought when I repott them today.

Hiya Bretts
I have this too on most of my trees and have also thought it is DL / Neutrog that I now use.

What I have noticed is that it more prevalent on Our non organic substrates, eg Diatomite, Kanuma, as I have rarely seen it on the pots still with Rays mix. ( maybe it is just 'cos it black any way?).
Like yo I just sprinkle DL or Neutrog on the surface of each pot.
Took some photos today to show you.

I always thought it was moss starting to grow that never developed properly and thus went gooey. I have just scraped it off as it will clog up the top of the soil

I notice it is more prevalent on my trees that are shaded or not in full sun thru the day

Ken

Hi Bretts...I reckon Tman could be on to it,algal slime brought on by high N & P ferts,makes a nice raincoat for your pot , not to mention, blocking any O2 exchange to the roots....a little bit like the top end of our river over here in Summer!... ....Dog.

This seems to have become quite an issue due to more than one person having the problem. If I have read your posts correctly (scanned through once only) what you have insinuated is that this algae or whatever is only affecting the trees which are planted in the NON ORGANIC MATERIAL and everything else you have which is planted in organic material (or a mix of both) isn't affected. Do you think it's a reaction between the material and the pelleted fertilizer....Do you think if you only used liquid fertilizer it wouldn't happen...Are you on your way to working it out or will it have to be an experiment with a trial period. I'm a bit worried and I'm sure a lot of other people are also ...I have just planted up a whole lot of trees in Diatomite for the first time and I dread this happening to me. If it's a "reaction" maybe a change of potting medium will fix it or if it's a "fungus" maybe a good dunking in condes crystals might help (if you can get it) or maybe vinegar I've read condes is a good flower inducer I don't know, I'm just trouble shooting, but no-one wants to lose good trees
Loretta

Oh Look....I've got my second bonsai tool

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/burn/Ball.pdf

Loretta wrote: is only affecting the trees which are planted in the NON ORGANIC MATERIAL and everything else you have which is planted in organic material (or a mix of both) isn't affected.

Hi Lorretta
Sorry to mislead you all, but after posting Earlier, I went and had another good look at all my trees. I had to search, but i found a few trees still in Rays organic mix, and several of them have the same stuff on them.

It is interesting that ones in Akadama do not have much on them, but I also have noticed that the surface of the pot with Akadama does not stay wet very long so may be the reason?

The pots that do have most on them, stay wetter for longer this time of year as they are more sheltered by trees and my shed

Ken