Save this JBP

[entrari]

Hi. Just wanted to tap your experiences. This 80 year old black pine was brought to our garden today. It was gifted to the owner and he placed it indoors and didn’t really water for almost a month.

Should we cut off the brown needles and/or branches or should we just let it be and hope it can recover? Should we repot this? This was only repotted last year.

 

[Shibui]

If it has been kept dry I would not repot this year. Dry does not affect the soil so it should still be good and roots will grow through - if it survives.
If the tree has been kept wet soil becomes anaerobic and sour so even if roots can grow the soil is not good and tree health suffers. In cases of sour soil and rotted roots I would repot to encourage new roots through fresh soil.

Needles look pretty bad on many branches. Usually by the time pine branches get to that stage they are beyond saving but there is always a glimmer of hope.
I do not think removing dead needles helps but certainly does not do any harm. Some are of the opinion that removing dead needles allows sun to reach any new buds better thus help growth.

At least there is some relatively green branches that have some slim chance of recovering. If this one does recover it will almost certainly require a restyle because of dead branches. I hope you can save it.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Looks terrible however personally would continue decent care, keep in full Sun see what grows. Removing needles might also remove live buds so seems not wise idea. "Possibly" more alive than is apparent. Best fortune.

 

[entrari]

Thanks. At this point I’m just hoping to do the least harm and keep it alive.

 

[entrari]

You think misting or watering the needles can help this tree?

 

[leus]

You think misting or watering the needles can help this tree?

Some say that pines actually absorb water through their needles, but that not all pines have this ability. I doubt JBP will absorb water but I it’s just my uninformed guess, and it probably won’t hurt.

 

[Kidkidsupreme]

Even if it was healthy, I wouldn’t repot. Substrate looks perfect.

 

[rollwithak]

What a shame, that’s a beautiful tree….

 

[Dav4]

You think misting or watering the needles can help this tree?

Unlikely. As others have said, full sun and careful watering until you see where the tree is going. In it's current state, with many of the needles damaged or dead, it will not be using nearly as much water as a healthy tree that size might, so the soil will take longer to dry out between watering. Over-watering at this point will certainly kill it.

 

[vp999]

Man...What a shame ..its a $5k+ tree here in the US.

 

[entrari]

Man...What a shame ..its a $5k+ tree here in the US.

Yeah. This was sold for $8k.

 

[Paradox]

Who would gift such a tree to someone that obviously doesnt know what they are doing.
What a shame

 

[Doogliebop]

Who would gift such a tree to someone that obviously doesnt know what they are doing.
What a shame

TikTok is filled with young morons filming 20 second videos watering a tree indoors while knowing absolutely nothing about cultivating trees in a pot. But from the size of trees it had to be a gift from mom and dad or their trust fund.

 

[MaciekA]

Some useful to know "trouble pine" watering info:

- When you water this tree, water very thoroughly (totally saturate the entire soil), however: water much less frequently. In other words, take more time between waterings. If you see moisture a cm or two below the surface, then assume there is even more moisture below, and hold off on watering. Wait for more drying. If water retention is excessive (i.e. if the soil stays visibly wet for days at a time), you can prop up one end of the pot by a few cm to hasten drying. Soil staying consistently / constantly wet is not ideal. Instead, soil going through cycles of moist -> less-than-moist is a better goal for a troubled pine. Roots will have trouble cycling moisture out of the pot with so little working foliage above.
- Generally avoid interpreting the "drying out" or browning of foliage as a sign of thirstiness. The pine is much less thirsty now than when it had a full canopy of green. It is hardly consuming any water at all in this state, and will need to push out new candles -> needles -> shoots before it resumes consuming water at a steady rate again. You can gauge thirst by observing the rate of drying in the pot as well as new growth.
- Sun is a good idea, in my experience a medicine for trouble pines including black pine.
- The brown needles are toast and likely a sign of branch loss. You can remove all the brown needles, it may help get some sun + air flow to still-green foliage.
- Due to the branch loss, if the tree survives it might have to be rebuilt from just one or two branches. If it survives, a bunjin appearance is probably where the design will go next.
- Avoid fertilizer until you have strong signs that the tree is consuming water at a predictable pace again.

Next goal: To observe any changes in the buds at the tips of the still-green shoots. If you see any signs of candle extension at some point in the next few months, that will be the first milestone passed (time to celebrate) and a sign that the tree will probably recover. Stay vigilant with conservatively-timed (but thorough/saturating) watering.

 

[entrari]

Thanks for this thorough care guide. Really appreciate it. Will look forward to following these.