Brown tips on kishu shimpaku

[KennedyMarx]

I've noticed that the tips on my kishu shimpaku's foliage is browning. None of my other junipers are browning like this and they're all out in the full sun. It's been in the 80s for the last few days here. Is this a watering issue or is the sun annihilating the foliage?

Last fall I worked on this at a workshop and I was advised to reduce the root system on this one during the spring this year. I didn't get it repotted, but figured it would be fine until next year. I threw some bonsai soil on the surface of the nursery soil just to make it look nicer, but it's a very thin layer that I would assume wouldn't make a difference.

 

[Vance Wood]

I have had Shimpakus do that from time to time and usually it's no big problem. I suspect a bit of winter damage if your winter was as mean as ours.

 

[quietobserver]

I've noticed that the tips on my kishu shimpaku's foliage is browning. None of my other junipers are browning like this and they're all out in the full sun. It's been in the 80s for the last few days here. Is this a watering issue or is the sun annihilating the foliage?

Last fall I worked on this at a workshop and I was advised to reduce the root system on this one during the spring this year. I didn't get it repotted, but figured it would be fine until next year. I threw some bonsai soil on the surface of the nursery soil just to make it look nicer, but it's a very thin layer that I would assume wouldn't make a difference.

Hate to ask, but did you buy it from Brussell's?

 

[Dav4]

That looks like a potential fungal issue to me.

 

[KennedyMarx]

I have had Shimpakus do that from time to time and usually it's no big problem. I suspect a bit of winter damage if your winter was as mean as ours.

Could be. It got left out with very little winter protection. It bronzed up quite a bit, but when spring temperatures rose everything greened back out. My other junipers got the same protection and they don't have this issue.

Hate to ask, but did you buy it from Brussell's?

I bought it from a guy in my club last year at a workshop. He may have got it from Brussell's, but it would probably would have been during the spring of 2013.

That looks like a potential fungal issue to me.

Is there a fungicide you'd recommend spraying? It gets plenty of air circulation. The foliage isn't really that dense. I was actually going to let it run a little wild this year for more options next year.

 

[Vance Wood]

I've noticed that the tips on my kishu shimpaku's foliage is browning. None of my other junipers are browning like this and they're all out in the full sun. It's been in the 80s for the last few days here. Is this a watering issue or is the sun annihilating the foliage?

Last fall I worked on this at a workshop and I was advised to reduce the root system on this one during the spring this year. I didn't get it repotted, but figured it would be fine until next year. I threw some bonsai soil on the surface of the nursery soil just to make it look nicer, but it's a very thin layer that I would assume wouldn't make a difference.

Is this your only Kishu? If you are looking at the 80's it just might be the sun exposure. I have seen that happen before. Sometimes they don't care how much light they get sometimes too much and they burn up.

 

[Dav4]

I've always used bonide copper fungicide.

 

[KennedyMarx]

Is this your only Kishu? If you are looking at the 80's it just might be the sun exposure. I have seen that happen before. Sometimes they don't care how much light they get sometimes too much and they burn up.

Yes, it's the only kishu I have. I've got a (regular) shimpaku, an itoigawa, some pfitzer junipers, and a couple of regular ol chinensis. Most are new to me from the last couple months. The two regular chinensis sat outside all winter in the same spot as the kishu, but they're in inorganic soil. That's the reason I thought it might be a watering issue.

I've always used bonide copper fungicide.

I'll have to look for that one. I've seen it pop up before but never had to worry about fungi.

Thanks everyone.

 

[fore]

Looks like Tip blight to me, this was really bad last yr. Be aggressive as it spreads quickly.

 

[october]

As both Vance, Fore and Dave said, it could be winter stress or a fungus. I think it could be the starting of a fungus. It spreads fast. If in 1 week or less, you see the brown spreading from the tips, through the foliage and down the stems, then it is a fungus. However, you absolutely should spray immediately. I can't stress this enough. I know of collections that have been decimated within 4 weeks from fungus. I would spray it as soon as possible. It moves like lightning. It is not an exaggeration that you could lose almost all your trees, especially junipers, inside of a month. Bonsai copper fungicide concentrate seems to work well.

Rob

 

[ml_work]

Kennedy all of your replies are from people with far more knowledge than I have about this but I will pass it on. You said your other juniper are in full sun. Over the past few years I have lost a few shimpaku in full sun, and have ruled out my well water as I lost some with both well and rain. What I have learned that the shimpaku like full sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon. I have one that was posted here a couple of months ago about style and it has been were it gets full morning sun and afternoon shade. So I move another one that had been getting brown tips throughtout the year, right beside it and so far it is doing really good, the new growth has hidden the brown tips. Mine did not have as much brown as what I see on yours, it was just the tips. This all my be old news to you, but I am just excited to have figured out (or hope I have) what has been the problem.

 

[quietobserver]

Could be. It got left out with very little winter protection. It bronzed up quite a bit, but when spring temperatures rose everything greened back out. My other junipers got the same protection and they don't have this issue.



I bought it from a guy in my club last year at a workshop. He may have got it from Brussell's, but it would probably would have been during the spring of 2013.



Is there a fungicide you'd recommend spraying? It gets plenty of air circulation. The foliage isn't really that dense. I was actually going to let it run a little wild this year for more options next year.

FYI I asked if it was a Brussel's shimp because they have a few that evidently have some significant fungal issues. Overhead sprinklers and the usual greenhouse issues I gather, but an occassional stroll yields a look at numerous trees that appear healthy but have been sequestered for various reasons. Don't get me wrong, everyone there is super nice and Brussel will go out of his way to help you, but they have some serious issues from time to time from what I gather. On the bright side, keep them lathered In daconil for 3 years and all will be well....

 

[KennedyMarx]

I isolated it from the rest of my plants for now. I wasn't able to find Bonide's fungicide locally, but I found a bottle of Daconil. I got home and looked at the list of plants and issues on the Daconil bottle. I didn't see juniper or tip blight. Is there any chance it will work or should I not bother with it? I'd rather not spray anything if I don't need to.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Doesn't the daconil bottle say something about treating blights? and shrubs? I'm not at home so I can't check my bottle. I have both daconil and copper and used both last year on some pines. I have some fungal issues on a juniper now and am using copper.

Wait for some others to chime in, but if it were me I'd spray it. I wouldn't want to wait and have it get worse and daconil is for fungal issues. I understand not wanting to spray chemicals but I'd do it over losing a tree. Just cover the soil when you spray so none gets in and don't be alarmed at how the daconil kind of coats the foliage. Good luck!

 

[GrimLore]

It does not matter if it is Bonide, Ortho, Spectracide, or most any brande of Copper Fungicide. They all seem to work equally when applied properly. PLEASE wear eye protection! It will cause serious eye damage.

Grimmy

 

[Dav4]

You should be able to find a copper fungicide at Lowes, HD, or some of the more upscale landscape nurseries...just call around and ask.

I did check the Daconil label on line and it had spruce and pines, maybe doug. firs, as treatable species, but junipers weren't listed.

 

[Dav4]

I isolated it from the rest of my plants for now. I wasn't able to find Bonide's fungicide locally, but I found a bottle of Daconil. I got home and looked at the list of plants and issues on the Daconil bottle. I didn't see juniper or tip blight. Is there any chance it will work or should I not bother with it? I'd rather not spray anything if I don't need to.

One of my shimpakus had similar looking tips on just a small branch. I was doing preemptive spraying for cedar apple rust at the time, otherwise I would not have sprayed for such a small issue. Your tree, though, appears to have a large portion of the canopy involved...I'd spray this one.

 

[KennedyMarx]

Here is a better pic of all the foliage. I'll go ahead and spray with the Draconil if it's not going to hurt then with a copper fungicide. I'm going to have to order one online as walmart and loses both seem to be out of copper fungicide.

 

[goosetown]

Here is a better pic of all the foliage. I'll go ahead and spray with the Draconil if it's not going to hurt then with a copper fungicide. I'm going to have to order one online as walmart and loses both seem to be out of copper fungicide.

Full disclosure: I have nowhere near as much experience as most of the people on this forum. However, shimpakus make up 90% of my trees and I've drowned myself in research over the last couple years. So take my advice here with a grain of salt, but also know that I've had experience with this.

1. I've learned that sometimes, for little to no reason (at least in terms of the way we're caring for/maintaining our trees), shimpaku will kill a branch to divert resources. If there's a guard against this, I'm not sure what it is. However, that doesn't look like what's happening here - it's rare and usually (as far as I can tell) befalls lower branches. It's happened to me once with an otherwise completely healthy tree.

2. My own guess here would be that it's either being overwatered or is sitting in soil that doesn't drain properly. Shimps are really, really finicky - I have several Itoigawas from the same source, have them in the same soil, and I have to water them almost completely differently - times of the day, frequency, etc. When the soil DOES get too wet, they tend to brown at the tips first. So this would be the first thing I look at - is your soil draining properly? If it's retaining a lot of water, I'd look into slip-potting it into a different mix; my shimps like to get a little bit drier before I douse them again.

I'd heed the advice of others and separate it from your other trees just to be on the safe side, but I think your biggest worries with this type of juniper are overwatering and spider mites. I'd be very surprised if this was fungal. Good luck!

 

[KennedyMarx]

Full disclosure: I have nowhere near as much experience as most of the people on this forum. However, shimpakus make up 90% of my trees and I've drowned myself in research over the last couple years. So take my advice here with a grain of salt, but also know that I've had experience with this.

1. I've learned that sometimes, for little to no reason (at least in terms of the way we're caring for/maintaining our trees), shimpaku will kill a branch to divert resources. If there's a guard against this, I'm not sure what it is. However, that doesn't look like what's happening here - it's rare and usually (as far as I can tell) befalls lower branches. It's happened to me once with an otherwise completely healthy tree.

2. My own guess here would be that it's either being overwatered or is sitting in soil that doesn't drain properly. Shimps are really, really finicky - I have several Itoigawas from the same source, have them in the same soil, and I have to water them almost completely differently - times of the day, frequency, etc. When the soil DOES get too wet, they tend to brown at the tips first. So this would be the first thing I look at - is your soil draining properly? If it's retaining a lot of water, I'd look into slip-potting it into a different mix; my shimps like to get a little bit drier before I douse them again.

I'd heed the advice of others and separate it from your other trees just to be on the safe side, but I think your biggest worries with this type of juniper are overwatering and spider mites. I'd be very surprised if this was fungal. Good luck!

I did notice the brown tips after a couple days of rain (and I had watered the previous afternoon). It's the only one of my junipers not in bonsai soil. I really hope it is just a watering issue. There could be fungal issues developing in such wet weather though, right? I'd rather be safe than sorry.

And here's that other pic that didn't get attached in my previous post.