AusBonsai

I have just purchased a Japanese Black Pine Bonsai which is approx 20 years old, it is in a bonsai pot and I have noticed the tips of the needles are going brown, being quite new to Ausbonsai is there thread somewhere on ausbonsai how to look after them

Hi Reddoggy , post a pic so members can see your issues .If you do a search for Japanese Black Pine or JBP , there should be numerous topics regarding JBP''s .

Cheers Alpineart

Thanks alpine,will do when the weather clears up and I work out how to insert pic`c

Hi Alpine and any other Guru`s on Black Pines, have taken a few pictures of the tree to give you an idea what I am talking about , the tree to me looks a little sick (note the brown tips on the needles)(have plucked a lot) so would appreciate any suggestions, am reasonably happy with the style of the tree but then any suggestions would be taken in if they are not too radical.

I'm no Alpine or a Guru on Black Pines but ( lots of water and sun ) and they do fine. mine have been in pots for about 1 and a bit years and there outside 100%

The Only thing i can think is maybe the pot is geting to much sun and cooking the roots a little and the tree is geting stressed.
I use a little bit of 80% Shade Cloth and make a tent / tepee around the pot.
It cool's the pot down by about 50% but lets the tree get 100% sun.

But Alpine will have a much better idea ( he's my goto guy as well )


Ps. It might help them if u tell what type of climate and your feed and watering on the tree as well.
The more information the better the go to guys will know whats going on.

PPS
If its the one Luan was selling it had the Brown tips before so its not something you have done

Thanks fiveoffive, thanks for your information,you will know a lot more than me even if you aint a guru , I live in Sydney so maybe it has too much water, I have it outside in full sun but there aint been a lot of that this summer,no it is not Luans but I remember that one and I must admit it looks very similar maybe we bought it from the same nursery and it sounds like we have the same problem, although I think he was in Brisbane.

Hi Reddoggy. how is that pine going ,it looks like it has had to little water,but then again if you live in Sydney it may be too much,I would keep it dry for a week or so and then see what happens, it definitely does not look too good,would be a shame to lose loose it as it looks good,I am surprised some of the other good growers have not helped you out being a newbie.

Hi Reddoggy , mate i'm "NO GURU' on JBP'S or any other tree's , I'm a self taught amateur continually learning from all the trials and research i do personally . There's a few fella's here should be able to help , it could be older needles ready to drop , too dry , too wet , too hot , under fertilized , over fertilized , all guesses not knowing the tree personally . It may require a re-pot .

Cheers Alpineart

Thanks Alpine, for your info,maybe I was wishing there was some quick fix,would hate to lose it,but I think they are pretty tough, I hope anyway.

Hi Reddoggy, looks like you've been plucking the JBP. Give it a soak in Charlie Carp and water. Later on give it some Seasol. Hopefully it will recover. Anyone else got some ideas to help Reddoggy?

Hi there, it is a bit hard to tell from the photos. I am a bit nervous when commenting on trees of this quality and price. I do not know what growing medium it is and how long it has been there for. If you are too concerned about it, would you still be able to contact the seller and ask for advice? I think it is easy if you bought it from a nursery.

-- I must admit that from the last picture, it does look healthy, but I could be completely wrong here.

If you are not sure whether or not the water does get through. At next watering time, just water the soil, ensure that the water does not spill out, give it enough to absorb into the soil and see if water run off the drainage holes? If it does then it is good. If it does not, then it is advisable to seek advice from a local club.

If water does not get absorb, then probably feeder roots have form a mass. It is advisable to seek advice from a local club too.

I imagine this tree has cost a fair amount. If you are concerned, seek advice in person.

Best regards.

I would say Dothistroma blight use kocide blue xtra.

Hard to say from pics, but as Brett suggests, try a copper based fungicide.

[Plug] And have a look at these...

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Thanks everybody for your help, will the fungicide do any damage it it is not a fungus disease.

Scott those video`s by Boon are they applicable to Aussie conditions as I notice that one of them mentions fall so I presume the video`s are American, and a post a year or two back by Dennis McDermott says we have totally different growing conditions and the trees grow a lot quicker out here.