Stop Needlecast before it starts!

[bonsai-ben]

Thanks! That's really good to hear.

The guy I bought it from says that it experienced a bit of a drought last year, so maybe that's what it is?

A "drought" huh? You mean the guy just didnt water his trees and is losing needles. Gotcha. Makes sense. Is new growth happy? If yes, who cares.

 

[bonhe]

That, my friend, is what the Cleary’s does! It’s the closest thing we have to a flu shot!

If I was you, I would use diluted liquid dishwasher which have been using by some of my friends with good result and save Cleary for treatment. Try to save the big gun!
Bonhe

 

[Adair M]

That’s new!

If I was you, I would use diluted liquid dishwasher which have been using by some of my friends with good result and save Cleary for treatment. Try to save the big gun!
Bonhe

How do you feel about Daconil and/or copper fungicide!

I do use insecticidal soap on spider mites on shimpaku. Seems to work well!

 

[Adamantium]

A "drought" huh? You mean the guy just didnt water his trees and is losing needles. Gotcha. Makes sense. Is new growth happy? If yes, who cares.

Hahaha you make a great point. I actually don’t have the tree just yet. I could maybe even back out of the auction... I feel like that would make me a huge asshole, though.

Do the buds in the photo I posted seem healthy to you?

 

[Dav4]

Hahaha you make a great point. I actually don’t have the tree just yet. I could maybe even back out of the auction... I feel like that would make me a huge asshole, though.

Do the buds in the photo I posted seem healthy to you?

Backing out of a winning bid in an auction without a valid reason would potentially make the auction site ban you from participating in future auctions. If those were pictures lifted from the auction posting, I wouldn't have bid on the tree unless the price was low enough to warrant the risk of the potential loss of the tree.

 

[namnhi]

@Adair M
Hey Adair, every year I seem to have a few bad case of either needle cast or something else but the whole needle is dead. I also had bad cases of Anthracnose on trident and Japanese maples. So I did spray them with Daconil a couple weeks ago but if systemic works then I would like to switch to that since Daconil most likely we be washed off in a day or two. I bought the 7.5 lbs bag from Amazon. Problem is it doesn't tell you how much you should put in potted plants? Most of my are still in the typical pond basket. Do you have the dosage on how much to put?

 

[Adamantium]

Backing out of a winning bid in an auction without a valid reason would potentially make the auction site ban you from participating in future auctions. If those were pictures lifted from the auction posting, I wouldn't have bid on the tree unless the price was low enough to warrant the risk of the potential loss of the tree.

56 bucks?

And, yeah, you're right. I messaged the mods to get their opinion, but I think you're right.

Here's hoping I can bring it back. I'm not super hopeful, as I've heard nothing but stories of steady decline from white pine owners.

 

[Adair M]

@Adair M
Hey Adair, every year I seem to have a few bad case of either needle cast or something else but the whole needle is dead. I also had bad cases of Anthracnose on trident and Japanese maples. So I did spray them with Daconil a couple weeks ago but if systemic works then I would like to switch to that since Daconil most likely we be washed off in a day or two. I bought the 7.5 lbs bag from Amazon. Problem is it doesn't tell you how much you should put in potted plants? Most of my are still in the typical pond basket. Do you have the dosage on how much to put?

A typical pond basket, maybe a teaspoonful. A larger pot, a tablespoonful. I just sprinkle it evenly over the surface.

It depends!

 

[Adair M]

A typical pond basket, maybe a teaspoonful. A larger pot, a tablespoonful. I just sprinkle it evenly over the surface.

It depends!

And I have found that copper spray works better than Daconil, so I use it first. I use the Daconil as “backup”.

 

[namnhi]

A typical pond basket, maybe a teaspoonful. A larger pot, a tablespoonful. I just sprinkle it evenly over the surface.

It depends!

Thanks. Will give it a try

 

[Clicio]

A typical pond basket, maybe a teaspoonful. A larger pot, a tablespoonful. I just sprinkle it evenly over the surface.

@Adair, sorry to ask bluntly, but sprinkling Daconil (we are talking here about the powder, not the diluted spray, right?) over the soil won't perhaps affect the micorrhizae below?
I ask because I have the same needle cast problem in one of my JBP, but when using Daconil I always dilute the powder (1 tablespoon/1liter (a quart) of water), spray it on the needles, but always covering the soil beforehand.
Should I forget about the soil cover?

 

[namnhi]

@Adair, sorry to ask bluntly, but sprinkling Daconil (we are talking here about the powder, not the diluted spray, right?) over the soil won't perhaps affect the micorrhizae below?
I ask because I have the same needle cast problem in one of my JBP, but when using Daconil I always dilute the powder (1 tablespoon/1liter (a quart) of water), spray it on the needles, but always covering the soil beforehand.
Should I forget about the soil cover?

Clicio,
The product I asked Adair M is BONIDE INFUSE systemic fungicide. For Daconil, I diluted it with water and spray on the foliage. Problem is I have too many trees, so when I water the foliage will also get watered so it get washed off fairly quickly.

 

[Clicio]

The product I asked Adair M is BONIDE INFUSE systemic fungicide. For Daconil...

OOPS!
My bad, sorry! I thought you guys were talking about Daconil.

 

[Adair M]

I use Daconil spray. I don’t worry about the mychorrazae. My trees always seem to have plenty.
You should see how they spray for stuff in Japan! The guys get all dressed up in hazmat suits, and spray the heck out of everything! No ban on chem war fare there! (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)

I’m lazy. I buy the premixed bottles. I might use two bottles of Daconil, two of Copper each season. But I don’t have a huge number of trees.

I also use the premixed mitacide when I spray my junipers. Again, I only have a couple, so it’s easier that way.

My home collection is about 30 trees, including Shohin. Pretty much all the Shohin (about 10) stay show ready all the time. The other 20 are 15 that are showable (or on show rotation), and 5 projects.

It’s funny, the project trees are very low maintenance. It’s the show trees that need the most attention!

 

[bonhe]

How do you feel about Daconil and/or copper fungicide!
!

I used copper fungicide a few times on citrus. It works well.
Bonhe

 

[erb.75]

@Adair M , I have been treating a ponderosa for needle cast and the new needles show no signs of the disease. Should I pluck off old needles that have the disease? I don't have much experience with ponderosa so I wanted to garner some opinions from others!

 

[Adair M]

I would cut off infected needles.

 

[Wilson]

Neeflecast is a fungus disease that grows inside pine needles. It shows up later as “tiger stripes” about halfway up the needle. Eventually, the top half of the needle dies, and then the rest of the needle does, too.

This really weakens the tree. The spores can spread out from just a few branches, then tobthe entire tree, then go on to infect all your trees. Pines, particularly JBP are susceptible to it, but all needles trees can get it to some degree. At least in my experience.

The fungus infects the new needles as they are just being formed. In my case, that’s NOW, in the spring. Once it’s in there, there’s little you can do.

So, what’s the treatment?

First off, never bring home a tree that’s badly infected. You will likely not be able to completely cure it, and you risk infecting your entire collection.

Traditionally, sprays such as Daconil and a copper based fungicide are used to control it. If you spray, alternate between the two for best results. Do it weekly, or if you don’t have a bad problem, every other week.

And, what I’ve fond that really helps is a systemic. The fungicide is absorbed via the roots and carried up into the needle to stop it where it starts: in the needle. The sprays just keep it from spreading. The fungus inside the needle is largely unaffected by the sprays.

The system I use is Clearys 3336. It’s a granular lawn fungicide. It comes in large bags, 75 lbs, for spreading on the lawn. A product with the same active ingredient available on Amazon in smaller quantities is Bonide Infuse Systemic Fungicide. Spread a bit on the soil of all your pines while the candles are extending. That way it will be there when the needles start growing, and hopefully, they will be needlecast free!

If you decandle your JBP in the summer, give these trees a second dose about 2 weeks after you decandle. That will treat the second flush.

This, along with a good spraying program, will help you prevent needlecast.

One final tip, Neeflecast thrives on humid, damp, and places where there is restricted air movement. So, keep your pines out in the sun where they are exposed to the breeze. This keeps their foliage dry. And, if possible, try not to wet the foliage when you water your trees, and try not to water late in the evening when the moisture can just hang around all night.

I just treated all mine, and thought it might be helpful for others.

One more tip: i water my trees first. Then go around and put between a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful on each tree, sprinkled all around the soil. Then come back an do a light watering in. Easy Peasy!

I boarded some pines well on vacation, and have been swamped at work since. I just took some time this morning, and noticed this! Hopefully some copper will help, systemics are hard to come by here...

 

[Adair M]

Those needles contracted needlecast when the were just forming and beginning to differentiate from the “candle”. That’s when you should have sprayed! Spraying now won’t hurt, but won’t really help, either. I mean, the needles that have it, have it. Spraying will help to keep it from spreading.

 

[Wilson]

Those needles contracted needlecast when the were just forming and beginning to differentiate from the “candle”. That’s when you should have sprayed! Spraying now won’t hurt, but won’t really help, either. I mean, the needles that have it, have it. Spraying will help to keep it from spreading.

I bought the tree over winter, and it wasn't showing then. I am just hoping to contain/stop any spreading.