JWP dropping older GREEN Needles after repot

[junmilo]

Hi All,
I recently asked a bonsai keeper to show me how to repot a JWP. it was okay after the repot for a week or so.

But this last weekend here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I have noticed the older needles are dropping like all over the place...they are still green.

Is this a sign of lack of water due to root damage? the bonsai keeper cut away about half the root mass.

Thank you

J

 

[amkhalid]

Usually jwp old needles turn brown and shed in the late fall. I would be concerned to see what you are describing this time of year. I also think it is a big risk to remove half the root mass of a jwp. They are not the strongest root growers.

I don't think there is much you can do except monitor watering carefully and wait. Maybe someone with more jwp experience will chime in. Good luck.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Any photos? This just doesn't sound right...needles tend to wither and stay on, or turn brown and fall off.

Can you see them dropping, could it be a squirrel, or maybe the individual who repotted it was rough on the foliage?

 

[Jason_mazzy]

jwp will shed needles after heavy root work (at least mine did). be sure to give stellar after care and it will pull through though it may sulk for a year or two.

 

[junmilo]

The needles did not fall off on their own. the tree is in a shaded area...only expose to the sun for about 2 hrs avg a day. When I was repositioning the pot...I touched the foliages and all the old green needles in the back came off.

The tree is grafted onto a jbp..so not on its own root

 

[Adair M]

It needs more sun than that. I put my pines back into full sun after repotting, just make sure it gets watered properly.

When you say "old" needles, are we talking about 2013's needles or 2012 needles or what?

If they are 2012 needles, don't worry about it.

If they are last year's growth, 2013, you have a problem.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

My few JWP go right back to full sun after repotting too, and they don't drop needles as a result of repotting. I'd say put yours in full sun, but I'm hesitant to say so because we don't know exactly what we're dealing with.

Photos will help, as we're mostly guessing at this point.

 

[junmilo]

Here are few photos...they are old needles...not last year growth...2012 growth....the candles are pushing out all over the tree...

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Last year's needles and this year's candles look fine. Give more sun, and less water. Soil looks really wet, and small-grained akadama is very retentive, so you'll want to be very easy on watering. I mist my white pine foliage daily, but water about half as often as my black pines.

 

[junmilo]

Ya the soil seems to be wet all the time....I kept the soil moist because a lot of roots were cut off by the guy when he repotted it.. Thank you for your advise.

 

[Adair M]

JWP are mountain trees where they stay dryer than trees growing in lower elevations. They do like full sun.

Wet soil inhibits root growth. Dryer soil forces roots to "go out to find water".

 

[junmilo]

JWP are mountain trees where they stay dryer than trees growing in lower elevations. They do like full sun.

Wet soil inhibits root growth. Dryer soil forces roots to "go out to find water".

Thank you for the info. But that's when the JWP are on their own original roots...these are grafted on JBP roots.

 

[october]

Thank you for the info. But that's when the JWP are on their own original roots...these are grafted on JBP roots.

Adair's advice is correct even though it is a graft. Also, the tree should not be losing green needles. These trees do have the capacity to lose an enormous amount of needles when shedding. However, this is not seasonal shedding. I am hoping that their capcity for losing a lot of needles and still remaining healthy will still apply here. I would also take a very close look for insects. Such as some kind of borer. However, it does sound like the repot. For a pine to react this quickly to a repot is unusual.

Rob

 

[junmilo]

Hi, the repot happened about two weeks before I noticed needles shedding. It is mostly stopped now.

It is now roughly about a month now since the repot.

 

[Adair M]

Virtually all the JWP we see on this continent are grafted. There are very few JWP on their own roots. So, even though I made no mention about the root species, I assumed you had a grafted tree.