I bought 2 mugo pines 5 weeks ago from San Antonio, brought them down to corpus christi 1 3gal n 1 1gal,the 3 gal got repotted in a 111 mix, it started declining 2 weeks after, I tipped it on its side let it dry out between watering full shade, temps in the 80s 90s, I was told by Ryan not to repot,but had to, the roots were staying to wet in the organic matter. Its almost all brown. The 1 gal was not touched at all,still in 1 gallon pot.its only half way brown help, every time I get my hands on one they die quickly is it timing, soil,fungus or climate help.thanks
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I purchased two dwarf mugo in Charlotte, NC last year. Mine immediately declined when I brought them home to Charleston, SC. Guessing they didn’t like the temperature change. I moved to letting them almost dry out complete in between waterings and they stabilized. One of them (the stronger of the two) got repotted this year in 1:1:1 and is recovering nicely. The other is still in its nursery pot and is slowly recovering as well. For me watering was key.
I was wondering if the asid level is to low for the mugo could this be why there declining, should I add kunuma soil to the mix.
Hmmm, interesting thought. This year I also started watering with rain water which tested at a pH of 6.4. My city water tested at a pH of 8.6. That would better explain the fact that both of my mugo are showing improvement even though only one has been repotted. Test your water and see where it’s at. If you find that you need to drop it you can do so with vinegar…I believe. I’ve not needed to do this yet.
I wouldn’t use kanuma with a mugo or any other pine. You won’t be repotting often enough and that kanuma is going to turn to dust. Not good with such coarse roots as on most pines. When I repotted my azalea I did a 4:1 mix of kanuma and 1/16" pumice just to give the mix a bit of body. It’ll be repotted every two years.
I to have an azalea in pumice and kanuma its bursting with life. My water is 7.5 so I’ll start collecting rain water. How much vinegar per gallon of water.
Also will a concrete pot have any effect on the roots. I made some pots then soaked them in water for 3 days.
Thanks for the help appreciate it.
Kanuma would be the right choice for azaleas, yes.
For conifers with health issues you could look into adding Kiryu.
You’ll need to test this out on your own using a consistent sized container when you make your mixes. I haven’t tried this myself, but iirc ppl were adding drops of vinegar.