JBP seedling

[YaBoyMyth]

So I planted these JBP out of season last October. They handled the winter very well staying greenish purple, but now as they wake up from dormancy two of them have turned brown. Not sure what I did wrong as they have all been in the same pot getting watered at the same times. Do these two look dead? Not sure how they could have died on me but they look very dry and I don’t see any new growth starting.

 

[parvae_arbores]

The two brown ones are dead. Where did you keep these over winter? When was the last time they got watered?

 

[YaBoyMyth]

The two brown ones are dead. Where did you keep these over winter? When was the last time they got watered?

Kept outside all winter and watered like 2 times a week.

 

[parvae_arbores]

Not too sure about the temperature in your zone, but excessive watering in the winter can lead to root rot or roots freezing/unfreezing. It could also be that the seeds were planted too late and the growth didn't harden off before the cold set in. At least you have 1 that looks like its got lots of buds though.

 

[YaBoyMyth]

Not too sure about the temperature in your zone, but excessive watering in the winter can lead to root rot or roots freezing/unfreezing. It could also be that the seeds were planted too late and the growth didn't harden off before the cold set in. At least you have 1 that looks like its got lots of buds though.

I live in Southern California so we didn’t have any temps below 35 this whole winter. So it can’t be freezing and it can’t be root rot either as that would have affected the other trees as well. There was 4 in there originally and two out of 4 were good and then the other 2 died.

 

[parvae_arbores]

Hrm, some other things I can think of are maybe its too warm 10a might be close to the top of the range for the plant.

 

[YaBoyMyth]

Anyone else got any ideas?

 

[Firstflush]

We had a couple warm days out of nowhere. Rancho is a little inland and gets much hotter than the coast.
Maybe didn’t keep up the water when it got hot. Add the warm winds in and it is a recipe for disaster with seedlings.

 

[Shibui]

Usually when pines turn brown there's no coming back.
My first though is also dehydration. New growers are so terrified of over watering they tend to under water. Even with several plants in one pot one side of the pot may be sunnier and slightly drier or it could just be that 1 is genetically hardier than the other 2 or has grown more roots to compete better for available water.
Without knowing much more about where, how and what conditions these have seen over the past month it's not really possible to be sure.

 

[roberthu]

That soil looks very wet. Has it sent like that all winter? Also, I feel the season is a bit off. Usually the seedlings are a bit bigger when they hit the first winter. I am wondering when they germinated last year.

 

[casun]

The soil is much more course than I would use on seedlings that young. With no room for error I bet they just dried out.

 

[sorce]

Aye, if that is the soil throughout, 2 watrins a week ain't enough. Not even here.

The ones I grew were strongest in small DE.

I am convinced that if you can blow smoke up a drain hole and see it come out the top, the soil is too loose.

Root O2 comes from water not air.

Sorce

 

[parvae_arbores]

Aye, if that is the soil throughout, 2 watrins a week ain't enough. Not even here.

The ones I grew were strongest in small DE.

I am convinced that if you can blow smoke up a drain hole and see it come out the top, the soil is too loose.

Root O2 comes from water not air.

Sorce

If this were stack overflow this would be the accepted answer right here.

 

[YaBoyMyth]

That soil looks very wet. Has it sent like that all winter? Also, I feel the season is a bit off. Usually the seedlings are a bit bigger when they hit the first winter. I am wondering when they germinated last year.

I had just watered when I took the picture. And yes I did germinate way too late. They germinated in October as I had just learned about bonsai and didnt want to wait till spring.

 

[YaBoyMyth]

Aye, if that is the soil throughout, 2 watrins a week ain't enough. Not even here.

The ones I grew were strongest in small DE.

I am convinced that if you can blow smoke up a drain hole and see it come out the top, the soil is too loose.

Root O2 comes from water not air.

Sorce

What is DE? I will look into it. It’s boon mix all the way through. No soil just substrate as I had read that is the best substrate for JBP. Should I not be using 100% boon mix?

 

[YaBoyMyth]

The soil is much more course than I would use on seedlings that young. With no room for error I bet they just dried out.

Ya that’s probably what it is. What soil or substrate is usually recommended? All the websites I have read for JBP say boon mix is perfect

 

[sorce]

What is DE? I will look into it. It’s boon mix all the way through. No soil just substrate as I had read that is the best substrate for JBP. Should I not be using 100% boon mix?

San Fran ain't....

The place I play Baseball!

It makes sense it would do well in San Francisco.

I think it can add an ease to our lives so we'll that most folks may confuse that with perfect for the tree, or water bill.

Sorce

 

[Srt8madness]

Ya that’s probably what it is. What soil or substrate is usually recommended? All the websites I have read for JBP say boon mix is perfect

Seeds of anything typically do best in a substrate for seeds. I.e. perlite, coco coir, rockwool cubes, sand/peat mix. The care of a jbp seedling and mature specimen are quite different.

 

[roberthu]

I had just watered when I took the picture. And yes I did germinate way too late. They germinated in October as I had just learned about bonsai and didnt want to wait till spring.

So the seedlings didn’t have enough time to accumulate energy before winter hits.
I feel it’s a timing thing more than anything else.

 

[casun]

Ya that’s probably what it is. What soil or substrate is usually recommended? All the websites I have read for JBP say boon mix is perfect

Boon mix is great for more established trees but for very young seedlings like that I use a 50/50 combo of perlite and coco coir.