AusBonsai

Hi everyone.
Whats going on with my Callistimon?
Tips of the leaves are going a speckled dark colour

hi Bebbas,
first thing you want to always want to ask yourself is, pest? or disease? And I don't know, sorry. But, I have a few callis. in large pots, not bonsai, and had the same problem last year, so spring just past, i re-potted and found the pots too root filled. Gave it a root prune and pruned the outer to match the root removal and cut all the remaining effected leaves off, leaving about 2-4 mm, they died and were replaced quickly with the next set of leaves, they came back free of the prob., and still are.
And I remember at the time scouring 'What garden pest or diease is that?‘ 安定 and found nada! Nothing！
A root filled pot can cause a whole set of probs. so my suggestion to you is to check yours.
Goodluck, and I hope someone can come up with an answer for you and me both.
Woody.

Thanks Woody, this sounds like it could be my problem. I did the chopstick test a little while ago and the root ball felt pretty solid. I had been witing for some cooler weather before I attempted any root chop work. Do know if there are any best times for this species?

Thanks again

I had this on two garden callistemon ground growing in my nature strip. I was able to scratch it off & found the leaf was yellow under the black specks. I think it may be scale of some sort, but I'm not a fan of sprays- so I cut the affected leaves off too & the new leaves which have grown are speckle (?scale) free.

HTH

I've seen this with some Callistemon, and I'm not sure what it is either. I'm not even are if it's a normal thing or a problem. I think you would attract more help from the experienced growers if the title of the thread was a bit more specific, something like "Purple spots on Callistemon leaves" perhaps?

Maybe the mods can help out with that?

Bebbas wrote:I did the chopstick test a little while ago and the root ball felt pretty solid. I had been witing for some cooler weather before I attempted any root chop work. Do know if there are any best times for this species?

I believe in between a growth cycle is a good time? (They have many throughout the year, and Calli's and many other Australian natives are actually dormant in Summer!) Just as the buds are starting to swell. Pup would be the best one to offer advice on this, he's the Calli guru around here

One of mine looked a bit purple at times. it was both potbound and scale infested but is still alive after years of neglect. I would try a spray for scale and some fertiliser first.

repotting time for callistemon is all year round in milder climates but I repot mine later in spring when temps are a bit warmer. I find that most natives I am experimenting with recover from repotting when weather is warmer and most recover best when repotted in summer when it is hot. It does not seem to matter whether there is new growth or not because you cut most of it off when repotting anyway.
I have cut callistemon roots quite hard with no problems. 1 died when bare rooted for repotting in January but another done at the same time survived no problems so might be something other than time of year that killed that one. Trees collected in Jan and Feb and cut back to stumps have grown back well this year.
If you are worried and do not want to repot now you can slip pot (just slide the rootball out of the present pot and pot into a larger pot with fresh mix around the intact current root ball) into a larger pot with fresh mix. Callistemon grow new roots easily and even when rootbound will send new roots into surrounding new mix. The problem rootball can be dealt with later in spring when you repot properly and the plant will be healthier and should recover better anyhow.

Geez, thanks for the great response CHIPPER-LACKHAND-PHOENIX and SHIBUI I really appreciate it.
I am very new so am just learning.
It definately isnt a bug. The discolouration started at the tip and is slowly working back but is not raised or looks like it is on the outside of the leaf in any way.
The discolouration is coming from within the leaf.

Could be a soil that isnt draining well. Too much moisture. Im probably wrong but just seems likely if the discoloration is on the inside and is starting at the tips.

hi Bebbas,
definately not the time for the 'root chop'. Deciduous maybe, but not callis.
Not sure of your climate, but mid spring for me, or, definately after the last frost would be a safer time, and as mentioned, just before the opening of the leaf buds
woody

I only have a couple of smaller ones but I have noticed that some of the older leaves do slightly change their colour and get a little darker in the cold weather so I thought it was normal (?) as I believe mine are healthy(?).
I may very well be wrong though and I am not sure if what I mention is the exact issue you are experiencing...some of my oldest leaves do get a slight purple hue to them and then turn yellowish before falling of the tree.
A year after they were collected they had the old soil removed and were repotted into into a free draining mix.
They are fed and watered and have good growth and respond well to being pruned, so I think they are healthy(?).
Cheers, Dario.

Hi Bebbas, I have similar observations to Dario's.

I experience a very similar colour change to your photo as older leaves ultimately die-off and are (hopefully!) replaced by new growth. I tend to notice it most after agressive rootwork when I assume that I've left more leaves on than the reduced system can support and the tree is correcting the balance. I've got a large stump that I relocated about 3 months ago that is down to it's last handfull of purple fringed leaves. Anxiously looking for that new growth every day!

Thankyou so much for your replies, I am flying blind in the world of Bonsai due to my level of experience so i really appreciate your responses.
Gotta love ausbonsai.
I will take all this on board and hopefully turn my Callistimons life around with the help of this community.
Love you gals & guys!



Bebbas

ps, keep the advice coming....I really need it