Bald Cypress- fear the worst

[Bonsaidoctor]

Bought this lovely little tree in late May.

It has been doing well. Water it intensively daily- just like the dawn redwood forest next to it.
But over the last few days- it looks like it is dying.

I show with my other trees bc the majority of them are doing very well. I know bald cypress are a “wet tree” but not aware of any time they went without.
After a day or two of just thinking they may be some scorched leaves (and the browning spread) I took it out of the light.
Any thoughts on what I did to cause this or what I can do now....
Thanks,

 

[markyscott]

Could be a bad case of root weevils. If you have a solid rootball, pull it out of the pot and look for white filmy stuff that looks like mycorrhiza. If you think you have it, there are a number of treatment options in the linked thread. I would prepare a mixing tub filled with orthene dissolved in water and give it a good soaking. Then repeat a week or so later.

S

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I agree, check the roots for pests. I've never seen root weevils, but I know they are a serious pest where they occur. Root mealy bugs is another root pest.

Inspect the roots as soon as possible and treat quickly if you see a pest. Use a pesticide that lists the suspected pest on the label. Don't delay, or you may loose the tree.

Post pictures of what you see at the roots if you can't make sense of what you see.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Was it repotted this spring? It appears to be in full sun so may be under a lot of heat stress. I have several and keep them in morning sun and avoid the afternoon scorching sun. When I did leave one in full sun one year the foliage really started to fade by mid-summer. Some folks like to defoliate them mid-summer just to get rid of the scorched foliage but it is not a good thing to do on a regular basis in my opinion, especially if recently collected or repotted. I even kept several in a flowing stream one year but they still faded by mid-summer.

 

[Bonsaidoctor]

I dont see any signs of pets in roots

Wonder if sun scorch is issue here. It was not repotted in the spring I bought it this year but looks like (from roots) it was probably potted 2 years ago

 

[markyscott]

I dont see any signs of pets in roots
View attachment 257018View attachment 257019View attachment 257020View attachment 257021
Wonder if sun scorch is issue here. It was not repotted in the spring I bought it this year but looks like (from roots) it was probably potted 2 years ago

I don’t see any either, but perhaps @BillsBayou can help. I’ve heard people describe sun scorch on these trees before, but they’re all around me and growing healthy in intense Houston sun. I don’t think of these as sun sensitive at all unless, perhaps, you moved it recently from the shade into the full sun?

 

[Zach Smith]

It looks like there's not much soil left in that root mass, so I would propose that lack of soil to hold water and repeated summer days stressed your roots when they got dry. You may want to consider defoliating completely, removing the tree from its pot and placing in an oversized nursery container with soil surrounding the root mass. If it lives till next spring, let it regain some strength and then do a late spring root-pruning and repotting.

 

[Dav4]

Bald cypress love full sun. What they don't love is hot, dry winds on relatively new foliage. My baldie is in full sun and has only suffered once one April when we had a breezy, hot day with temps in the mid 80's and low humidity. The foliage got pretty crispy within 24 hours but bounced back within a week. Your tree is pretty root bound, so that may be playing a role. Keeping it submerged in water for the next few weeks until the weather cools might help.

 

[BillsBayou]

I know I'm late to the party, but the pot looks undersized in general. As Zach said, the soil also looks low/missing. Follow Zach's advice. There appears to be an uptake issue going on.

Where'd you get the tree?

 

[Bonsaidoctor]

Thanks to everyone for their help. I have posted some follow up pics.
I suspect heat stress/momentary lack of moisture with a root bound plant caused issue.
I stuck root ball (without any manipulation) into a nursery pot with partial sun and kept it watered.
It looks better.
At this stage, should I cut away all dead branches/leaves?






For me to learn specifically where to cut- any exact suggestions on this pic below


Thanks for all the help.

 

[Bonsaidoctor]

It looks like there's not much soil left in that root mass, so I would propose that lack of soil to hold water and repeated summer days stressed your roots when they got dry. You may want to consider defoliating completely, removing the tree from its pot and placing in an oversized nursery container with soil surrounding the root mass. If it lives till next spring, let it regain some strength and then do a late spring root-pruning and repotting.

Zack- besides my immediate post above... one other question. Should I keep it in partial sun, full sun, or shade until next spring?

 

[Zach Smith]

Zack- besides my immediate post above... one other question. Should I keep it in partial sun, full sun, or shade until next spring?

I'd go with partial sun. I had a BC this year that was newly collected suddenly brown up some foliage so I put it in a shady spot in the nursery and just waited (kept it watered). After six weeks or so it resumed growing, but I left it in the shady spot because we were getting into the depths of summer and I didn't want to stress it again this year.

 

[sorce]

Get rid of them green balls of death too.

No sense having them as a possible.

They all open on one hot day with no soil buffer and who knows what could happen.

That could have happened.

Fuck them green balls.

Sorce

 

[rockm]

Do you have a cat? If you do and it's outside, it could be the problem. Cats love bonsai soil and pots and pee on them just like litter boxes. They also tend to "mark" territory with urine. That tree is located on a spot that might be prime time for a feline marking its territory -repeatedly.

If YOU don't have a cat, do any of your neighbors?

In my experience, BC don't really care about container size. They will throw roots vigorously in about anything. the root mass looks a little congested, but not enough to cause that much damage.

 

[BillsBayou]

Get rid of them green balls of death too.

"Green balls of death" isn't a bad name. They don't actually kill the trees, but I agree that an ailing tree shouldn't have these.

Cypress twig gall midge