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I've been watching/watering this River birch because I noticed some black on the leaf tips, it's been raining off & on so I to wait a day or two on watering it. I do check once a day to see if any of my plants need to be watered and decided Thursday night 9PM that I should probably water it when I get home from work Friday 6PM. Came home to this.
DSC_1221.JPG

Attached are pics from the black leaf tips on May 21st, which didn't seem bad just trying to provide more info, also pic from May 28th next to the Coke can when it was "healthy". I watered/soaked it when I saw it (obviously). It looked just like the healthy picture when I went to work Friday morning.

The stems at the end aren't drooping as much as before this morning, but the leaves are really bad some almost brittle, Any idea? Lack of water or something else?
 

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Shibui

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If the stems stand up after water the problem is almost certainly too dry.
Birch are riverside trees and do not stand dry for long so more water rather than too dry is probably better. I would suggest more water more often but just how much and how often will depend on the soil you use and daily fluctuations in humidity and temp.
Some leaves will have died due to not having enough water. trees are able to sacrifice some leaves in order to save the core of the tree and survive until conditions improve. The damaged leaves will not recover and should turn brown and eventually fall off but, provided you have caught it in time, new leaves will grow.
I have found birches difficult because they are more particular than many species.

Fingers crossed.
 

sorce

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That looks like that crunchy soil that sounds bad cuz it's too big.

When in doubt, remember that you should have already watered so you wouldn't be in doubt!

If you can hear your soil it's no good!

I swear you can leave that soil on a constant spray and have a tree die from lack of water before overwatering.

Looks like the dolphins made it to lake Michigan before the Bullsharks. Shame, I don't want fair warning I want carnage!🤣

You gotta treat that birch like they treat a dolphin out of water.

Sorce
 
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If the stems stand up after water the problem is almost certainly too dry.
Birch are riverside trees and do not stand dry for long so more water rather than too dry is probably better. I would suggest more water more often but just how much and how often will depend on the soil you use and daily fluctuations in humidity and temp.
Some leaves will have died due to not having enough water. trees are able to sacrifice some leaves in order to save the core of the tree and survive until conditions improve. The damaged leaves will not recover and should turn brown and eventually fall off but, provided you have caught it in time, new leaves will grow.
I have found birches difficult because they are more particular than many species.

Fingers crossed.
Thanks for your knowledge and advice. I want to put it in the sink and let it sit halfway submerged in water overnight. Yeah I've had vegetable gardens for 15+ years and knew what I did when saw it. I just wanted confirmation I guess. And the black on the leaves and stems thru me off, making me think I was watering to much. Lesson learned.
 

River's Edge

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I've been watching/watering this River birch because I noticed some black on the leaf tips, it's been raining off & on so I to wait a day or two on watering it. I do check once a day to see if any of my plants need to be watered and decided Thursday night 9PM that I should probably water it when I get home from work Friday 6PM. Came home to this.
View attachment 440345

Attached are pics from the black leaf tips on May 21st, which didn't seem bad just trying to provide more info, also pic from May 28th next to the Coke can when it was "healthy". I watered/soaked it when I saw it (obviously). It looked just like the healthy picture when I went to work Friday morning.

The stems at the end aren't drooping as much as before this morning, but the leaves are really bad some almost brittle, Any idea? Lack of water or something else?
Looks like it may have been repotted recently in a dry mix. Is it possible that is a contributing factor?
 
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If the stems stand up after water the problem is almost certainly too dry.
Birch are riverside trees and do not stand dry for long so more water rather than too dry is probably better. I would suggest more water more often but just how much and how often will depend on the soil you use and daily fluctuations in humidity and temp.
Some leaves will have died due to not having enough water. trees are able to sacrifice some leaves in order to save the core of the tree and survive until conditions improve. The damaged leaves will not recover and should turn brown and eventually fall off but, provided you have caught it in time, new leaves will grow.
I have found birches difficult because they are more particular than many species.

Fingers crossed.
Thanks for your knowledge and advice. I want to put it in the sink and let it sit halfway submerged in water overnight. Yeah I've had vegetable gardens for 15+ years and knew what I did when saw it. I just wanted confirmation I guess. And the black on the leaves and stems thru me off, making me think I was watering to much. Lesson learned.
Extremely low dew points, warm temps and windy... your tree dried out.
Yep, shot myself in the foot. It was getting rain but obviously not enough.
That looks like that crunchy soil that sounds bad cuz it's too big.

When in doubt, remember that you should have already watered so you wouldn't be in doubt!

If you can hear your soil it's no good!

I swear you can leave that soil on a constant spray and have a tree die from lack of water before overwatering.

Looks like the dolphins made it to lake Michigan before the Bullsharks. Shame, I don't want fair warning I want carnage!🤣

You gotta treat that birch like they treat a dolphin out of water.

Sorce
Got it in my head I was over watering. Any idea what the black leaves and steams mean? Sun burn?
DSC_1144.JPG
 

Shibui

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Hard to say what the black tops are. I cannot recall seeing that here.
Birch, as streamside trees, are happier with constant water. I'd be comfortable with a gravel tray underneath to allow some roots to access more reliable water. Just be aware that rapidly growing roots can quickly thicken enough to seal the drain holes causing the pot to become a lake. Birch may even cope with that but I'd still prefer to see good drainage so maybe cut the emerging roots a couple of times through summer. On occasions I have had to resort to a drill bit to drill out roots blocking the drain holes.
 

River's Edge

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Nope. Wiring is enough stress and the pot drains good, maybe too good.
Should I use a humidity tray?
If the mix is dry, say pumice and lava, with med/lge particles then you will need to water regularly. rain rarely waters a bonsai pot properly. Just an observation, I suspected repotting due to what appeared to be shredded sphagnum moss on the surface. must be my aging eyesight!
 
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Hard to say what the black tops are. I cannot recall seeing that here.
Birch, as streamside trees, are happier with constant water. I'd be comfortable with a gravel tray underneath to allow some roots to access more reliable water. Just be aware that rapidly growing roots can quickly thicken enough to seal the drain holes causing the pot to become a lake. Birch may even cope with that but I'd still prefer to see good drainage so maybe cut the emerging roots a couple of times through summer. On occasions I have had to resort to a drill bit to drill out roots blocking the drain holes.
The pot has 4 decent size drain holes and the soil is pumice and lava, it drains quickly, and i water in 20 second intervals over a minute or so to ensure its saturated. I do see a lot of fine root hairs poking through the rocks, and try and cover them up, with the "decorations" you see in the pot. Not sure if this is a good thing to do but I know new roots are delicate.
If the mix is dry, say pumice and lava, with med/lge particles then you will need to water regularly. rain rarely waters a bonsai pot properly. Just an observation, I suspected repotting due to what appeared to be shredded sphagnum moss on the surface. must be my aging eyesight!
You got the soil correct and the moss on the surface is what I used to cover small hair roots from dying off. Maybe it does need repotting? I've only had it for about four months.
 
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roots BN.PNG

These fine/hair roots appear in quite a few places. Should I cover them or let do their thing?
 

River's Edge

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The pot has 4 decent size drain holes and the soil is pumice and lava, it drains quickly, and i water in 20 second intervals over a minute or so to ensure its saturated. I do see a lot of fine root hairs poking through the rocks, and try and cover them up, with the "decorations" you see in the pot. Not sure if this is a good thing to do but I know new roots are delicate.

You got the soil correct and the moss on the surface is what I used to cover small hair roots from dying off. Maybe it does need repotting? I've only had it for about four months.
If it drains well it does not need repotting. Shredded moss will protect the surface roots and also keep the moist available for a longer period of time after watering.
 

sorce

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Any idea what the black leaves and steams mean?

Seems to me the black tips were from previous underwaterings. Fresh growth gone dry.

The progression seems to follow the amount of foliage.

Like you've been watering the same but it has built more transpirators to the point where there were so many, it went from good to dry in that one night.

Sorce
 
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Seems to me the black tips were from previous underwaterings. Fresh growth gone dry.

The progression seems to follow the amount of foliage.

Like you've been watering the same but it has built more transpirators to the point where there were so many, it went from good to dry in that one night.

Sorce
Makes sense. Thanks!
 
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deathbydumbass.PNG

Update. Should I take the wire off for less stress? I think the tree is alive, as I see new buds already. Kind of looks good dying, said the guy named murderer.
 

Dav4

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View attachment 440900

Update. Should I take the wire off for less stress? I think the tree is alive, as I see new buds already. Kind of looks good dying, said the guy named murderer.
Nope, leave the wire. Removing it now might damage new growth.
 
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Nope, leave the wire. Removing it now might damage new growth.
Almost one month later looking much better, and I learned for the tenth time that new leaves get sunburn. I put more moss on to help keep the soil moist, and I'm happy it's not dead! 😁
 

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Orion_metalhead

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River Birch... River. Birch. RIVER. Water that thing like crazy!!!! Glad it came back for you. Nice little tree. I think your soil height is low in the pot from a few pictures. I would top it off. Sphagnum on top above the lip height. At this age, the tree doesn't have thick enough roots to be exposed at all. I'd make sure your soil height is adequate to cover the roots.
 

berzerkules

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Birch always seems to act weird when I wire. It could be my lack of experience and improper technique or they might just not like it.

Once a branch is lignified it's too stiff to bend, young growth is delicate and they can fatten up quick. It seems to be a narrow window to get wire on and take it off. It could just be a me problem though.

Anyways, glad your birch bounced back.
 
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