Hello Everyone! I’m from Buenos Aires, Argentina. So is summer here.
I have a JWP that I wired and styled mid November (Spring), it was going all great, haven’t lose any twig or branch (as has happened before on other trees), but now, all old needles are turning brown and falling, and some of the new needlees that grew on the spring are getting brown as well! I’m very afraid for the health of my tree, I don’t want to lose it, is specially hard to get JWP in Argentina.
Do you know what is happening and what should I do now?
Hi @damiantrimboli,
How is the balance of water and oxygen in your container?
Could you have damaged the branches when styling?
How cold are your winters- dose the tree get a rest?
Lastly, any signs of pests?
balance of water and oxygen should be good, was repotted on winter 2017 (1 and a half years ago). I wired with caution, but it is possible that I could damage something… but never happened with other types of pines.
We don’t have very cold winters here, but this tree is in Buenos Aires for at least 10 years.
I really couldn’t say if it is fungal, but if it is, the usual course of action would be to cut off the affected areas. Think I would take it out of its pot and inspect the roots. Good luck.
I lost three ponderosa pines last summer with browning and loss of buds similar to the experience you have had. Ponderosa pines are susceptible to a variety of needle diseases, including pine needle cast, needle cast and dothistroma needle blight. Symptoms of diseases include paling needles that eventually fall off, and thin crowns with clusters of dead or discolored needles. As the disease progresses, older needles shed, thereby causing “lion’s tail” branches, with only terminal foliage remaining. I did not recognize the problem until it was too late. High humidity and cool temperatures seem to be a factor. found that even small amounts of rain were sufficient for spore dispersal. Gadgil (1974) observed that a combination of 20°C days and 12°C nights, under continuous moisture, produced significantly more Dothistroma needle blight infection than other tested temperature regimes. SO YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THE AFFECTED TREE IS ISOLATED FROM ANY OTHERS YOU HAVE. Also ensure that adequate ventilation occurs so trees are not in an environment that encourages fungal growth. I have learned to change my watering practices to not water the foliage and to ensure a good day and night air flow to reduce fungal outbreaks. Pre treating with the fungicide Mancozeb applied in early to mid summer can manage but not cure the disease. I wish I had a silver bullet that would solve the problem.
