Shimpakus Browing after late.frost

jbhampton31

Sapling
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Location
Johnson City TN
USDA Zone
7a
Hey... So have a question about 2 shimpaku's I have... Here in East TN zone 7a have been having some major temp swings this weekend.. We have been having 60 deg or higher weather during the day and the past 2 morning Sat and today Sunday the lows have been at 29 degs with freeze warnings for around 5 hrs each day... I knew this was coming so I rushed out and got a cold frame 15x7x7 greenhouse from Amazon and had all my newly leafed decidous and any repotted material. I left the confirers outside under frost cloth because I know they are more tolerant to frost. However these 2 shimpakus I noticed later this evening have gotten browing on some of the tips and on the apexs. I took a few pics to get everyones thoughts if this is just late frost damage? These trees did not show these signs of damage before the freezing temps came...They were covered in frost cloth but the wind could have blown it off. None of my other junipers have been affected at all only these 2. I cut off the affected areas already but here are a few pics of the damage. Hoping it isn't tip blight or anything, all of my trees were treated with a 3 in one systemic Insecticide, Fungicide, Mitozine a couple wks ago. I seperated these trees from the others just in case and checked and no spider mites.1000006722.jpg1000006722.jpg20240407_204148.jpg20240407_204153.jpg20240407_204227.jpg20240407_204229.jpg20240407_204242.jpg
 
Was this "frost cloth" left on in wind in contact with the foliage?
Actually my 1st question is when was the 1st one with the most tip damage repotted?
I do not protect my junipers unless they've recently been repotted, best combatted by
potting later in Spring nearing the end frost date, 1-3 weeks out works good for me.

2 things that I've experienced that causes this, is root work in early Spring on Shimpaku
that is not pushing runners as much as I'd like. I have this going on now.
Another is physical damage usually caused by wiring error, but if there was material
blowing around batting the foliage, that would do it.
 
The tall straight one in 1st pic was repotted last spring not planning a repot on it this yr. The other was putchased from a vendor at the Kannapolis show 2023 in the same pot it came from. I haven't done any repotting on conifers yet. The frost cloth is the stuff they sell at landscape, hardware stores, and nurseries, to protect against frost like in this picture. I put it on late at night when temps stared to drop and removed the next morning. I have been using it in a dug in bed on really cold nights but with repotting decidous trees and them in leaf i put them into a new cold frame greenhouse. Only left the conifers outside and decidous conifers, bald cypress. No wire has been applied recently to either. But it could have been that material blowing, all of my other shimpakus, nanas, yews, etc did fine. Also the other one had the same major browing at the apex but I had already snipped it off before taking these pics.
 

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Wasn't sure if it had recently been repotted or not. That'll do it.
Especially with the exposed roots if that was recently done as well. So they were not...
They were covered in frost cloth but the wind could have blown it off.
This is why I asked about placement, if they were in contact with each other in the wind.
It could cause same damage as wiring error.

So I'd just pinch out the brown tips and fertilise with 5-1-1 Fish fertiliser big box stores carry.
At least rotate that in to your regimen.

It has recently got down to mid 20'sºF here and I only protected my fresh repots.
My Kishu handle it just fine even after month old runners had begun.
My Itoigawa was repotted this Spring, so it has both runners and browning where
it is abandoning a couple of shoots. !st transition to bonsai soil from nursery can.
DSC_1127.JPG
These 3 Kishu are left out continually after I bring them out from Winter protection late February-early March.
The one on the right has a few brown tips but nothing to be concerned with, it is healthy. Maybe it got a touch too dry?
Maybe repotted last year. The other 2 are incredibly healthy.
 
Wasn't sure if it had recently been repotted or not. That'll do it.
Especially with the exposed roots if that was recently done as well. So they were not...

This is why I asked about placement, if they were in contact with each other in the wind.
It could cause same damage as wiring error.

So I'd just pinch out the brown tips and fertilise with 5-1-1 Fish fertiliser big box stores carry.
At least rotate that in to your regimen.

It has recently got down to mid 20'sºF here and I only protected my fresh repots.
My Kishu handle it just fine even after month old runners had begun.
My Itoigawa was repotted this Spring, so it has both runners and browning where
it is abandoning a couple of shoots. !st transition to bonsai soil from nursery can.
View attachment 538892
These 3 Kishu are left out continually after I bring them out from Winter protection late February-early March.
The one on the right has a few brown tips but nothing to be concerned with, it is healthy. Maybe it got a touch too dry?
Maybe repotted last year. The other 2 are incredibly healthy.
thanks yea i am still realitively new to it all... this is my 2nd winter and figured just some slight problem from the frost or cloth or something because I had a couple tridents breaks some twings bringing in and out of the greenhouse. But when i googled brown tips on junipers i got all that mention of mites and fungus and just wanted to make sure i didnt have a bigger problem on my hands that could've spread to other trees. I worry too much sometimes i think but like that quote an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I am still a beginner but alot of my trees are big projects taken over from club members who have passed on or thinning their collections or bought from vendors at shows
So I am a beginner with some non beginner trees in some cases and don't want any risks on the yrs that went into them. Thanks again! Nice looking trees!
 
Don't let it dry out. Near dry is perfect time to water.
Hard telling when the exposed roots were done and how much at one time.
Just hold the green side of a browning tip, and pull straight out with opposite hand
the brown tip. I don't see anything concerning, but know that watering is the number one
reason new folks lose bonsai.

How did you check for mites???
 
i used the white paper trick and shook the foliage nothing showing on the paper. That was told to me at a workshop when the topic of mites came up. I used scissors to cut back to a woody stem. I know sometimes pinching junipers is a touchy subject with people so I just cut them both back with scissors. I keep them in morning sun afternoon shade. The 1st one I repotted myself in a good free draining soil. The one I bought at the Kannapolis siluette show has akadama in it which hold more moisture but still seems fairly free draining. This is going to be my next big project at the next club meeting taking this big shimpaku juniper repotting into a deeper mica pot to regain some finer roots, change the orientation to this as a front, and get it out of the broken down mucky soil that it's in now. The pumice is just top dressing.
 

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That's the way 👍
No harm in pinching dead foliage out unless it's too woody.
Just not to control growth so much. The brown individual tips is what I was talking about.
 
That's the way 👍
No harm in pinching dead foliage out unless it's too woody.
Just not to control growth so much. The brown individual tips is what I was talking about.
right on thanks for the help... i have a few other posts on here about some of the decidous trees i am working on if u want to check them out.
 
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