Beginnings of a shimpaku cascade

[florida_bonsai]

So here is my shimpaku juniper that I got from miami tropical bonsai a little over a month ago. I found it buried in a back corner of the nursery and saw a little potential in it. I brought it home and it started pushing some new growth but it appears to have stalled slightly over the past week or so. On Tuesday I went outside and noticed that the foliage on one branch had started to turn yellow and immediately I thought spider mites. I ran inside, grabbed a piece of printer paper and held it under my bonsai as I tapped it gently to see if anything would drop off of it. To my relief, nothing showed up. I checked the soil to see if it was moist and it's probably a little wetter than it should be but we get lots of rain down here this time of year and it's also very humid. As I am not very experienced in bonsai, I turn to you guys as a resource to help me before its to late or to comfort me if its time has passed. Does anybody have thoughts as to what could be going on?

3 of the photos are of the same yellow foliage, 1 is of a branch that may be starting to change color and the last is of what I believe to be the front of the tree.

 

[Cadillactaste]

First off...let me say...I know absolutely NOTHING about shimpaku. But...I am sure you can have fun with this...learn from this tree. Surely someone will pipe in. If not...I would return to the store and ask for advice since it's in your neck of the woods if you don't hear a reasonable thought on it, but surely someone will pipe in.

Gosh...to have a bonsai nursery within driving distance. I would LOVE that! Shoot I would love one an hour away even. Since I drive that to buy anything other than groceries and gasoline. Lol

 

[larlamonde]

So here is my shimpaku juniper that I got from miami tropical bonsai a little over a month ago. I found it buried in a back corner of the nursery and saw a little potential in it. I brought it home and it started pushing some new growth but it appears to have stalled slightly over the past week or so. On Tuesday I went outside and noticed that the foliage on one branch had started to turn yellow and immediately I thought spider mites. I ran inside, grabbed a piece of printer paper and held it under my bonsai as I tapped it gently to see if anything would drop off of it. To my relief, nothing showed up. I checked the soil to see if it was moist and it's probably a little wetter than it should be but we get lots of rain down here this time of year and it's also very humid. As I am not very experienced in bonsai, I turn to you guys as a resource to help me before its to late or to comfort me if its time has passed. Does anybody have thoughts as to what could be going on?

3 of the photos are of the same yellow foliage, 1 is of a branch that may be starting to change color and the last is of what I believe to be the front of the tree.

I would not be overly concerned at this point. Junipers sometimes loose branches or just some discoloration. Give it some time and see how it progresses. I would not start doing all kinds of stuff to the tree, just let it go. IMHO it looks fine. Good luck.

 

[markyscott]

Try diagnosing your problem by process of elimination as brown tips and yellowing foliage could be nothing to worry about or one of several possible problems. The good news is that it looks ok to me at first glance. If you do decide you have a problem, work down the following list from top to bottom.

1. Do you have spider mites?
2. Do you have caterpillars?
3. Is the foliage staying wet overnight?
4. Is the soil staying too wet?

If none of the above, it may be tip blight or some other foliar disease, but eliminate the other possibilities first. And you can go ahead and clip off the yellow foliage and the needles with the brown tips. They won't get better and it will be easy to tell at a glance if new brown needles appear.

Scott

 

[florida_bonsai]

First off...let me say...I know absolutely NOTHING about shimpaku. But...I am sure you can have fun with this...learn from this tree. Surely someone will pipe in. If not...I would return to the store and ask for advice since it's in your neck of the woods if you don't hear a reasonable thought on it, but surely someone will pipe in.

Gosh...to have a bonsai nursery within driving distance. I would LOVE that! Shoot I would love one an hour away even. Since I drive that to buy anything other than groceries and gasoline. Lol

Darlene, having miami tropical bonsai about an hour away is great! They have a huge selection and are always great with advice it's just a hike to get down there. But what if I told you I actually had another lesser known bonsai nursery within 5 minutes of my house? It's called H & F Imports and they have some awesome deals on pre-bonsai as well as some of the cheapest prices I've seen for wire (although its aluminum its copper colored in appearance) anywhere near me or online! They also have a ton of pots...not sure if theyre anything special or not but they're decently nice and fairly priced.

 

[florida_bonsai]

Try diagnosing your problem by process of elimination as brown tips and yellowing foliage could be nothing to worry about or one of several possible problems. The good news is that it looks ok to me at first glance. If you do decide you have a problem, work down the following list from top to bottom.

1. Do you have spider mites?
2. Do you have caterpillars?
3. Is the foliage staying wet overnight?
4. Is the soil staying too wet?

If none of the above, it may be tip blight or some other foliar disease, but eliminate the other possibilities first. And you can go ahead and clip off the yellow foliage and the needles with the brown tips. They won't get better and it will be easy to tell at a glance if new brown needles appear.

Scott

Thanks Scott! Went through a couple of those things on your list...no for spider mites and yes for staying wet (compensated by not watering for the last few days). I don't believe there are caterpillars but we do have millipedes on our patio but not on the table tops. I spray the foliage with a mister in the mornings but not at night, so unless it rains the foliage stays dry. If it is tip blight or another foliar disease what can I do?

Thanks in advance

 

[markyscott]

Thanks Scott! Went through a couple of those things on your list...no for spider mites and yes for staying wet (compensated by not watering for the last few days). I don't believe there are caterpillars but we do have millipedes on our patio but not on the table tops. I spray the foliage with a mister in the mornings but not at night, so unless it rains the foliage stays dry. If it is tip blight or another foliar disease what can I do?

Thanks in advance

For now, I wouldn't do anything. Remove the damaged foliage and wait to see what happens. Continue to be careful with the watering. I'm guessing that it's in potting soil - that's probably fine for the nursery pot that it's in, but it will tend to stay damp. Use the "chopstick method" for deciding whether or not to water.

- Scott

 

[Cadillactaste]

Darlene, having miami tropical bonsai about an hour away is great! They have a huge selection and are always great with advice it's just a hike to get down there. But what if I told you I actually had another lesser known bonsai nursery within 5 minutes of my house? It's called H & F Imports and they have some awesome deals on pre-bonsai as well as some of the cheapest prices I've seen for wire (although its aluminum its copper colored in appearance) anywhere near me or online! They also have a ton of pots...not sure if theyre anything special or not but they're decently nice and fairly priced.

They have some specimen Bougianvillea I keep looking at. But...from one photo its not much to go on. Besides...I have a lead on maybe something next spring. Which I would rather spend my money there.

An hour easily to anything decent where I live. But I love my country life. Makes the drive worth while. Doctors office everything is an hour away.

The closer one sounds like fun when you have time to kill.

 

[october]

Your tree is very healthy. If you are sure that the discolored section is not from spider mites. Then it is probably just that the branch got damaged.

Very nice job styling this tree. If it were my tree, I would pull the apex down a bit so that it sits slightly lower.

Rob

 

[florida_bonsai]

Your tree is very healthy. If you are sure that the discolored section is not from spider mites. Then it is probably just that the branch got damaged.

Very nice job styling this tree. If it were my tree, I would pull the apex down a bit so that it sits slightly lower.

Rob

From what I've read the proper way to check for spider mites is to hold a piece of white paper under the tree and tap it to see what falls out and look to see if the "droppings" move. Is there another way to check?

Also as far as the apex is concerned, how would you pull it down? Pruning or wiring towards the front or back?

 

[october]

I would cut off that small section of dead foliage. Then, I would lightly shower off the tree with the hose for maybe 15-20 seconds. This might help if there are mites. If not, you will have to spray. Keep an eye on the tree. Mites can kill sections in a matter of days.

As far as pulling the apex down. You can wire the apex branch, coiling the wire around the branch then bend it down a bit. Here is a virt. The apex should sit inside that space.

Rob

 

[Eric Group]

I suspect you just damaged that little branch when you out such thick wire so close to it, OR if you removed foliage that had been shading it, the branch might be reacting negatively to seeing much more light suddenly...

 

[Neli]

I would have gone for informal upright...the slope between the cascading branch and the trunk is too much like a bow...and that is a no no with cascades.