Dieback on collected Yaupon holly

thams

Omono
Messages
1,023
Reaction score
1,542
Location
Roswell, GA
USDA Zone
7b
Ugh, over the past couple of weeks I've been having some mysterious dieback on my collected Yaupon holly. It was collected in late winter and is planted in garden soil. It's been growing strongly up until this point. I've had 3 branches die and additional twigs are starting to show the same symptoms. My first thought is spider mites - I found some fine webbing around the apex where some of the dieback is occurring. Other growing tips are normal and going strong. There hasn't been a change in watering or whether really. It's been hot, but that's nothing new. Any ideas? I sprayed with Bayer Advanced 3-in-1 disease, insect, and mite control a couple of days ago. I plan to spray on a 7 day schedule.

IMG_3788.jpgIMG_3789.jpgIMG_3791.jpg
 

AZbonsai

Masterpiece
Messages
2,486
Reaction score
5,329
Location
AZ
USDA Zone
9
Overall looks pretty healthy. Was that branch damaged and you did not notice it. The branches do get brittle.
 

thams

Omono
Messages
1,023
Reaction score
1,542
Location
Roswell, GA
USDA Zone
7b
Overall looks pretty healthy. Was that branch damaged and you did not notice it. The branches do get brittle.

I've been ultra careful to not mess with the branches too much since I've been letting it gather energy for the coming winter. I pruned inward growing branches a couple of months ago, but that's it. Otherwise I hardly touch the plant aside from watering and rotating to allow sunlight to hit different places.
 

sorce

Nonsense Rascal
Messages
32,908
Reaction score
45,579
Location
Berwyn, Il
USDA Zone
6.2
It looks thick AF!

Healthy.

I'd be thinning it to keep a better eye on things.

Sorce
 

Zach Smith

Omono
Messages
1,513
Reaction score
2,852
Location
St. Francisville, LA
USDA Zone
8
It's not at all unusual to see this phenomenon. Typically it's only one or a few branches. I don't know what causes it. Your specimen looks healthy overall, so I wouldn't fret too much. One more thing to bear in mind is that Yaupons root slowly. So give it plenty of time to get established and don't plan any root work too soon.
 

thams

Omono
Messages
1,023
Reaction score
1,542
Location
Roswell, GA
USDA Zone
7b
It's not at all unusual to see this phenomenon. Typically it's only one or a few branches. I don't know what causes it. Your specimen looks healthy overall, so I wouldn't fret too much. One more thing to bear in mind is that Yaupons root slowly. So give it plenty of time to get established and don't plan any root work too soon.

I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. I know Yaupons don't like having their roots messed with in general, and this one was bare-rooted and had large roots pruned. It ended up with only a small amount of feeder roots since it was growing in heavy clay. My plan is to leave the roots alone for 3 years so they get nice and established. After that I'll repot into bonsai soil and really begin training it. It'll take at least that long (if not longer) to establish primary branches proportional to the trunk since it's so thick.
 
Top Bottom