Salt water for japanese black pine

[leatherback]

A friend of mine recently recommended I use slightly salted water on one of my corkbark japanese black pines. Reasoning was they are coastal in Japan, and when they get weak, they need some salt.
First time I heard about it, so would like to hear your experiences/opinions on this.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

mmmm dont think thats a good idea at all, calculate the right proportion of salt needed for a plant in a tiny pot without overdo it..? a lot of people have them far away inland and they grow just fine, dont overcomplicate yourself introducing something that could go very very wrong very easy

 

[Mikecheck123]

and when they get weak, they need some salt.

Sounds like total horsepoop. What aspect of photosynthesis would pure salt help? If there's a mineral deficiency, you'd think the answer would be fertilizer rather than a salt shaker.

 

[rockm]

Epsom salt will probably benefit the tree. I use it on the advice of a bonsai nursery owner. He said he's been using for years. Thing is, you don't use much and it's not table salt. 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water every two weeks, or weekly if things have been wet. Espsom salt contains Magnesium, sulfur and O2. Trace minerals...Don't use any Epsom salt with added other ingredients, like Lavender oil, etc.

 

[Lorax7]

Here’s a link to the Ingredients for Instant Ocean, a product sold in the pet trade for folks that keep saltwater aquariums. It’s intended to effectively reproduce seawater when added to reverse osmosis or distilled water. I doubt that the sodium chloride does anything nutritionally for the tree. I would expect it mostly just alters osmotic pressure, making it harder for the roots to take in water. If there’s anything in seawater that has a real nutrient effect, it’s likely a trace element that the tree only needs very small quantities of. Odds are that you’re already getting that through other sources. And, if not, using a commercial micronutrient product is likely safer for the tree than trying to mix up saltwater and give the tree the right dose that it would ordinarily experience from ocean spray in its native environment. How would you even go about computing what the dosage of saltwater ought to be to replicate the average amount of ocean spray that would remain in a given volume of soil over time in the native environment?

 

[Paradox]

I live on the coast where there are many pitch pine that grow around here, even right next to a beach. I've seen them die after a hurricane doused them with salt water.

 

[penumbra]

Interesting thing is, while I would never dose a tree with saltwater, unless it was a mangrove, all of these micro and micro nutrients is why I use liquid seaweed and sea kelp in my plant care regime.

 

[Scorpius]

A friend of mine recently recommended I use slightly salted water on one of my corkbark japanese black pines. Reasoning was they are coastal in Japan, and when they get weak, they need some salt.
First time I heard about it, so would like to hear your experiences/opinions on this.

What's wrong with your pine?

 

[Deleted member 32750]

all of these micro and micro nutrients is why I use liquid seaweed and sea kelp in my plant care regime.

Liquid seaweed and fish is like magic for plant health

 

[leatherback]

What's wrong with your pine?

I see individual branches die off, without any reason.
y friend told me that happens to all imported Japanese black pine here. I had never heard that so .. sceptical me, I go for second, third and more opinions

 

[nuttiest]

maybe they were imported from a country with no salt...

 

[AJL]

Unexplained dieback of branches doesnt mean salt deficiency!!
Maybe ask your supplier for a refund ?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Sodium is a notorious killer when used in excess.
Aren't cork barks naturally weak trees?
I would rather feed them Pokon balkonplanten voeding (one of the most complete "out of the box" nutrients I could find) instead of fiddling with sea salt. Maybe add some pokon groenhersteller for micronutrients.

Some plants can get a nice boost from coconut water (the cheaper and less filtered, the better. Don't use the milk!).

 

[penumbra]

Some plants can get a nice boost from coconut water

Makes sense.
We are big on coconut everything in my house.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Makes sense.
We are big on coconut everything in my house.

Coconut water is regularly used in tissue culture because it has all the nutrients, hormones, vitamins and sugars a seedling needs.
Whenever I have plants that need a boost, I give them some off-brand stuff and it usually provides the jumpstart they need.

It does attract wasps and ants, but that's just for a day or two.
Not to be used in compacted media though, because microbes will excrete a lot of CO2 when they break it down.

 

[leatherback]

Maybe ask your supplier for a refund ?

strange suggestion?
I got a healthy tree. What happens after that, if my cause, and no-one else to blame.

 

[Ugo]

strange suggestion?
I got a healthy tree. What happens after that, if my cause, and no-one else to blame.

That a good question!
But Im more and more surprised to see nursery offering "warranty" sometimes covering the two following seasons.
Dont ask me how it works and what has to be done for them to respect that warranty but I had the same and exact reaction as you!
They told me nothing except that if there was any problem with the tree I bought contact them before 2023.

 

[Kadebe]

A friend of mine recently recommended I use slightly salted water on one of my corkbark japanese black pines. Reasoning was they are coastal in Japan, and when they get weak, they need some salt.
First time I heard about it, so would like to hear your experiences/opinions on this.

I don't think JBP's roots come in contact with salt water. What might be is that wind and stormy weather cause salty mist to get on the foliage. From experience in my former work I know that the dock lights in the harbor always suffered from corrosion, while a few hundred meters further inland this was not the case. So maybe the foliage get salty aerosols due to weather conditions

 

[Emanon]

The post got me to thinking...and I apologize in advance for my slightly off-topic question but... Would it maybe help to mist the foliage of trees such as Monterey cypress and coast redwood (or JBP) with ocean water?

I live literally on the beach. I could pretend the Pacific Ocean was a well and collect buckets of salt water by walking a few hundred feet across the sand. So controlling for things like cost and ease/effort is there any benefit to misting with salt (i.e. ocean) water? It would actually be cheaper than using my hose and just as easy...

 

[Scorpius]

I see individual branches die off, without any reason.
y friend told me that happens to all imported Japanese black pine here. I had never heard that so .. sceptical me, I go for second, third and more opinions

Do you have cool summers where you're from? My corkers love the heat and humidity of my summers.