Sick black pine

[Jaymac42]

Is there any way of fixing this poor bugger or know what could have caused his candles to die back like this? His candles never fully opened but he’s a dwarf black pine so I figured it would be a slow process but now all of them have died. He got a repot in spring and has looked fine up untill a few weeks ago. He’s been in the shade since looking sick as it’s been quite hot where I live. But coming into autum now here

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Is the pot made of metal? Also I think you may be in USDA zone 9 or 10. Looks like it dried out to me.

 

[Paradox]

How hot has it been?
What kind of soil is it in (looks like potting soil) and how often do you water it?

 

[Shibui]

Adelaide gets pretty hot and dry. My guess is that @Michigan Tree Murderer is on the right track with lack of water being a possible cause. The metal colander probably not helping either.
I've given up on colanders of any sort here because they dry out way too quick and it's not as hot or dry here as Adelaide.

The variety is probably P. thunbergii 'Yatsubusa' which is reasonably readily available here as a dwarf form of JBP. They are almost always grafted. Not quite as hardy as the species I've found and pruning can be more awkward because it makes great clusters of buds at each growing point.

The good news is that the older needles still look fine. I'd chop the problem growth off now and wait for new buds to develop from the needles back along the branches.

 

[Jaymac42]

Thanks for all the replies! Yeah the metal colander didn’t even think about it. I had seen it in a photo and thought it was a good idea for drainage. I think I have cooked the thing, I’ve done a few scratch tests and he is still green so fingers crossed!