Is my hemlock sick?

[Atom#28]

I collected this hemlock from the mountains of Idaho this autumn. The foliage has some weird, twisty growth habits, especially at the tips, and there’s a bit of white crud on the trunk near the base. Does this look fungal to anyone? Should I treat, or watch and wait?

 

[parhamr]

It appears possibly fungal in nature. I do prophylactic sprays of systemic fungicide and later follow with chlorothalonil (Daconil, minus the wetting agent). It’s so much better to keep the disease load down than to react too late to a problem.

White around the base of a tree can just be from salts and calcium of water. Do you have a lot of dissolved minerals in your water?

I’m guessing the tree has just been too wet. Hemlock like a fair amount of water, but goofy needles after collection makes me think it wasn’t yet able to use as much water as you had been giving it.

Further supporting this hypothesis is your soil. I see you have fines present in the soil mix, which isn’t a problem with Hemlock. That does, however, increase the water holding capacity of the soil and decrease its capacity for gaseous diffusion.

In total, watch carefully, back off the water a touch, and spray some fungal treatments.

 

[Atom#28]

goofy needles after collection makes me think it wasn’t yet able to use as much water as you had been giving it.

Thank you for the advice! I will follow it. Yes, I am guilty of not sifting my substrate, but I didn’t really understand how that affects H20. I will manage my soil better from now on!
The needles were already goofy when I collected. This tree had been growing in a really rough situation.

 

[parhamr]

Thank you for the advice! I will follow it. Yes, I am guilty of not sifting my substrate, but I didn’t really understand how that affects H20. I will manage my soil better from now on!
The needles were already goofy when I collected. This tree had been growing in a really rough situation.

Ohh, the fines aren’t strictly a problem, here. They just cause a little more water retention, so it’s actually useful for species like hemlock.

Water remains in the soil partially as a function of surface tension. When the gaps between particles are smaller, which happens when there are fines present in the soil, the water will have more surface to hold on to.

So, after collection, while trees are reacting to the shock of the operation and the change in climate, watering deserves more careful timing. I’ve killed some newly transplanted trees from too much water, so it’s nothing for which I’m calling you out

What I’m really getting at is this all is part of a system that is variously interconnected. Hemlock with sifted soil can almost be watered by default at least once a day. Hemlock with organic soil and fines deserve to be checked before watering.

That’s a cool tree you’ve found! I’m always amazed by the genetic variance of these species. Hemlock have a slightly different needle appearance out here. When looking at your tree, I see why the Latin name for Douglas-fir suggests they are false hemlock.

Best wishes, man. That’s a pretty good tree all around.

 

[Atom#28]

I couldn't believe my luck when I found this tree. It actually shared a rootball with the larch I was initially trying to collect. I honestly didn't even see this tree's potential until I had it half-dug with its friend

Here they are as I found them





Here's the larch (Tamarack) I collected at the same time

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and in her box (already getting some yellow):

 

[parhamr]

One more important note: I’ve also had hemlock grow funky foliage!

They are so tolerant of shade and enthusiastic about extension growths that they’ll push growths into and against their surroundings. That tends to affect the branch movement and directionality more than the needle shape, though.

In some of my hemlock saplings and developing trees I’ve found twisted up, wiggly growths inside the silhouette of the trees. They’re weird