Taxis Mass Foliage Death 😱

[ShadyStump]

It's my oldest daughter's tree, and she's quite proud of it even though she's never tried styling it, so I'd REALLY hate to lose it.



My first theory, when it the weather started warming and it started losing foliage, was maybe the roots froze some over winter. I cleaned out the worst branches about 6 weeks ago, and have fertilized with fish emulsion a few times since then. For a while it seemed to be doing better, but in the past two weeks it's gone from "not too bad" to this.
I'd call it lost, but there's one branch full of strong, green foliage.


Thoughts, tips, whatever?
Much appreciated!

 

[Dav4]

Yews are quite cold hardy and don't mind frozen soil for months on end if they're out of wind and sun. With that being said, I'm not sure what's causing the foliage die off on this tree. I did see a few posts on Facebook concerning a fungal disease that's currently laying waste to T. baccata nursery stock and bonsai over in England... your pics are somewhat similar to what seems to be happening over there. Tony Tickle, a well known English bonsai artist and yew specialist, posted this on Facebook. It might be worth a search there, +/- reaching out to him somehow. Here are some pictures from his post.

 

[ShadyStump]

Wow, that does look awfully similar. I'll look into it.
It was fairly sudden, only turning as the tree came out of dormancy. Not sure if that would affect a diagnosis.

 

[AJL]

This might be caused if your tree got waterlogged- are the drainage holes blocked? can you lift it out of the pot to check the roots?
It also looks similar to infection by the root-killing fungus= possibly a Phytophthora spp.
Either way keep it isolated from your other trees as a precaution till you know whats going on.

 

[ShadyStump]

This might be caused if your tree got waterlogged- are the drainage holes blocked? can you lift it out of the pot to check the roots?
It also looks similar to infection by the root-killing fungus= possibly a Phytophthora spp.
Either way keep it isolated from your other trees as a precaution till you know whats going on.

It's in one of the best draining soils of all the trees, so I know that's not it.
I hadn't considered fungal infections until @Dav4 mentioned it, so I'm moving it right now.
It'd been healthy the past two years since I bought it, and showed no signs of any of the issues common around here.

 

[Rivian]

Cuspidata?

 

[Tieball]

I had a Yew a few years back. It was doing well for quite awhile. Then just decided to die off. During the autopsy I found that there was a lack of roots to provide adequate support for all the growth, so I guess the Yew just stopped everything. It looked like there was enough rooting but with closer examination it was clear that the roots were not advancing and reproducing. Some roots were so weak they just fell off when touched. The Yew was living in the past with past roots. My winters are fairing harsh but I didn’t think winter was the cause. I’ve had landscape Yews do a similar slow death. Foliage dried out similar to your photos. That was my experience.

 

[ShadyStump]

I had a Yew a few years back. It was doing well for quite awhile. Then just decided to die off. During the autopsy I found that there was a lack of roots to provide adequate support for all the growth, so I guess the Yew just stopped everything. It looked like there was enough rooting but with closer examination it was clear that the roots were not advancing and reproducing. Some roots were so weak they just fell off when touched. The Yew was living in the past with past roots. My winters are fairing harsh but I didn’t think winter was the cause. I’ve had landscape Yews do a similar slow death. Foliage dried out similar to your photos. That was my experience.

That's not out of line with my initial theory, and would explain why one branch mostly looks ok still.
Did you come up with anything to treat it?

 

[Japonicus]

That's not out of line with my initial theory, and would explain why one branch mostly looks ok still.
Did you come up with anything to treat it?‘

How long since you’ve seen the roots at repot time?
I assume the soil needs less watering with less uptake, so this is more crucial now.
Aggree they’re quite Winter hardy, but drying out during Winter overrides their hardiness.

Yew Pests and Diseases

Usually, when there is a problem with your yew (Taxus) the first symptom you will observe is a yellowing of the needles. Yellowing needles however can be caused by a variety of things such as the s…

horticultureforhomegardeners.ca

I know you guys are under a heat event right now but I would, if I were home daily, do a repot
shooting for some root inspection, and hoping to minimally disturb when the forecast looks more normal
in the near future. If deeper inspection is required then you’re on the right track I would hope.
Be sure to scroll down through the link above.

 

[ShadyStump]

How long since you’ve seen the roots at repot time?
I assume the soil needs less watering with less uptake, so this is more crucial now.
Aggree they’re quite Winter hardy, but drying out during Winter overrides their hardiness.

Yew Pests and Diseases

Usually, when there is a problem with your yew (Taxus) the first symptom you will observe is a yellowing of the needles. Yellowing needles however can be caused by a variety of things such as the s…

horticultureforhomegardeners.ca

I know you guys are under a heat event right now but I would, if I were home daily, do a repot
shooting for some root inspection, and hoping to minimally disturb when the forecast looks more normal
in the near future. If deeper inspection is required then you’re on the right track I would hope.
Be sure to scroll down through the link above.

It is possible it dried out during winter. I didn't water much.
It was moved from its nursery can to it's current pot February of last year. No major root work done; just enough to fit it into the pot, then filled in with potting soil heavily cut with sand (what was available when my daughter was available to do the job). Last year it thrived, so I assumed it had recovered well. Had no plans except for some clean up and thinning this year. My daughter wasn't acting interested in doing any real work on it.

I'll read through that link, and see what I can learn. Thank!

 

[ShadyStump]

Cuspidata?

No, taxus X densifolia or something like that. European derived, Home Depot landscape section fall clearance.

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

European derived, Home Depot landscape section fall clearance.

I really hope there weren't cuttings from the UK that brought the fungus stateside!

 

[Japonicus]

then filled in with potting soil heavily cut with sand

I'm envisioning play sand, peat and perlite .
Last Spring I planted 3 happy nursery JWP in a raised bed with lillys and a happy Sargent juniper. Lost all 3 JWPs .
Hope you figure her yew out.
Next project try BR when young and happy.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Check for 0.5mm small black or brown mites underneath the foliage. Those are ravaging my spruces here and it looks like a fungal infection but isn't.

 

[ShadyStump]

I really hope there weren't cuttings from the UK that brought the fungus stateside!

Trunk is 2 fingers thick, so not likely.

I'm envisioning play sand, peat and perlite .
Last Spring I planted 3 happy nursery JWP in a raised bed with lillys and a happy Sargent juniper. Lost all 3 JWPs .
Hope you figure her yew out.
Next project try BR when young and happy.

Coarse sand and decomposed granite from the hills nearby, sifted of all fines.
Learned better than the use fine sand when I put an aloe in it once. Yup, you CAN kill them.

 

[ShadyStump]

Check for 0.5mm small black or brown mites underneath the foliage. Those are ravaging my spruces here and it looks like a fungal infection but isn't.

No signed of mites or bugs.
Just these little things, that I had always assumed were male cones.

They're hard, but when you can crush them there's no slimy gore like you'd expect from bugs or eggs.

It's acting like other conifers I've seen that had root issues. I'll have to dig into the pot and check that, but until I can I'll do what I can under the nutrient deficiency category. Should have N from the fish emulsion I've been using, so I misted with chelated iron.

 

[Tieball]

That's not out of line with my initial theory, and would explain why one branch mostly looks ok still.
Did you come up with anything to treat it?

I learned that if there was a next time that I would keep more roots in the first place. I treated it like I would a deciduous tree and initially cut to much root away. I would also dig it up in spring rather than in the heat of summer. Then I figured I did not know how to properly water a Yew in a box….watering while in the ground was much easier and likely more forgiving. So, in the end, because it was an autopsy, I didn’t get an opportunity to treat it. I just learned from it what I might do differently if I had another Yew situation presented. The first Yew was pulled from landscaping and had more than 20-25 years in the ground. It had to be removed to allow progress that would be different.
The trunk was fabulous….I was not fabulous.

 

[Japonicus]

No signed of mites or bugs.
Just these little things, that I had always assumed were male cones.
View attachment 490162
They're hard, but when you can crush them there's no slimy gore like you'd expect from bugs or eggs.

It's acting like other conifers I've seen that had root issues. I'll have to dig into the pot and check that, but until I can I'll do what I can under the nutrient deficiency category. Should have N from the fish emulsion I've been using, so I misted with chelated iron.

Looks like berries coming on. Our yew bush where I grew up produced berries, but I’m not remembering clusters.
Birds sure liked them.

 

[ShadyStump]

Looks like berries coming on. Our yew bush where I grew up produced berries, but I’m not remembering clusters.
Birds sure liked them.
View attachment 490246

They've been there since last summer, mostly looking like that. I assumed it was a male tree and they were pollen cones.
I should probably do more research. If it's female or monoecious, and these are supposed to be berries, I'm definitely going with major nutrient deficiency.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

No signed of mites or bugs.
Just these little things, that I had always assumed were male cones.
View attachment 490162
They're hard, but when you can crush them there's no slimy gore like you'd expect from bugs or eggs.

It's acting like other conifers I've seen that had root issues. I'll have to dig into the pot and check that, but until I can I'll do what I can under the nutrient deficiency category. Should have N from the fish emulsion I've been using, so I misted with chelated iron.

Hmmm that makes me wonder if there are any gall mites or other pests that might affect yews. We have some cool ones here in Europe that make the foliage look like juniper needles.
Berries should be squishy and their pollen cones aren't woody. Weird.
But then again, I don't like yews because they give me cemetary vibes. I like diagnosing things but I know very little about the species.