Help with care for Hinoki cypress / juniper. Browning, white marks.

[Aneesa10511]

Hi!

So im pretty experienced with atlantic cypress in my own time having grown bonsai - but ive recently been given a small tree by a friend who was struggling to care for it. They've told me it was sold to them as 'Chamaecyparis Obtusa - Hinoki cypress / Juniper' to be kept indoors (we're in England), and I can't say I'm entirely sure how to deal with it myself so would appreciate some help.

The trunk of the tree has traces of white over it, they're difficult to see but I've tried to photograph them.

And next, a lot of the foliage is turning brown or a greyish shade - I'm unsure if it's normal for this tree to brown during the winter? Again, I've attached pictures.

It's currently in a plastic training pot and I'd thought I'd wait to repot it until spring, there's a lot of fine roots visible through the soil. Im keeping it just damp as I do my other trees, and added a few fertiliser pellets. And I'd just appreciate some help on where to go from here x.

 

[Kanorin]

The browning foliage is what hinoki cypress do (especially in the fall and winter) naturally to get rid of foliage that is not productive (usually because it is shaded out). That being said, there is quite a lot of brown foliage and some of it appears to be on the periphery of the tree - so that may be some kind of signal that there could be other health issues going on...maybe. They are definitely a single insult per year type of tree - meaning if it has been repotted, don't do any major pruning or wiring, etc.

The white stuff looks like it might either be dried sap or calcium carbonate, but tough to say at this resolution.

 

[Yamabudoudanshi]

It looks like Hinoki alright, and should not be kept indoors. There are very few true trees/shrubs that will be happy indoors and hinoki is not among them. They require some amount of winter dormancy and need to be outdoors all year.
It's hard to tell, but it already looks half dead, so if you don't want it to be fully dead I recommend getting it outside. I find hinoki don't like direct sunlight quite as much as a pine, but will more or less tolerate full sun if it's not too powerful.
As a beginner, I would also recommend you get rid of the extra rocks on the soil surface as it will hinder your ability to tell when the soil needs water.

 

[Kanorin]

Good catch about not keeping it indoors, I totally missed that on the first read. The likely reason why so much of the foliage has turned brown is not enough sunlight.

 

[brentwood]

That's one of my first trees, and it was tricky to get a feel for. It does tend to go brown if it's unhappy - it wants sun and air or it drops shaded foliage, or worse, gets fungus. I try not to water its foliage normally, will blow it off occasionally for critters. I would think good drainage, not let the roots sit wet.
Good luck,
B

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Hmm… totally agree about the foliage being dead or dying. Not sure about the cause as it wasn’t mentioned if the former ower kept the tree outside or inside.

Also a close look at the nebari shows roots sticking out, below the exposed roots. Almost like someone potted it at a new angle and sloppily left those roots out of the media. These should be covered. This issue could help-contribute to the dying foliage issue. Yet this almost looks like a root issue.

Imho here’s a data dump of the worklist we’d use …as the tree is also new to collection.

Roots first - gently pop the tree out of the pot. Try to keep the root ball intact… This is not a repot.

Inspect and smell the soil on the bottom for rot due to poor drainage. If smells bad or mushy below, replace the drainage layer and any media needed. Check any visible roots. If root rot cut out exposed roots. Flush root area with 3% Hydrogen Peroxide.​

Remove enough media to lower the tree so the small roots on top can be well covered. Not to worry about covering a bit of the exposed roots for now.. prop up one side of the tree to enhance drainage, then switch to the other side.​

​

Second: Once roots sorted, go topside and cut out all the brown… all the way to green. If no green either remove the branch or leave for Jin.

Third: trim any clustered areas as lightly as possible lightly. Regretfully there may not be a lot left, hopefully there will be decent branching remaining… be conservative.

Fourth: Spray the lot thoroughly with copper fungicide or 3% Hydrogen Peroxide. Protect the media from spray. A fan might be used to dry foliage.

Last and most important for now, get a wintering over plan for the tree. A simple cold frame or cold greenhouse is the only way we’d go in this situation as the tree is weakened. Finally as the tree has been inside for a long time, it definately needs to be hardened off first.

That’s a lot, but easily done.

Good Luck - please ensure follow up posts are made, so we can all learn from this tree.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[WNC Bonsai]

I’d say it was kept indoors where it did not get enough light, was not kept humid enough (indoor air is notoriously dry), the soil was allowed to dry out (hinoki hate dry soil), and was sloppily repotted leaving the surface roots exposed. In other words they did everything wrong. To fix this you need to keep the soil moist but not sopping wet and slowly move it outside. Right now much of England north of Birmingham is in extreme cold so if you are there don’t move it out right away. If you have a cold porch or unheated garage/shed move it there first and wait for a warm spell to move it to a shaded area of the garden where it will be out of the wind. Place leaves, pine needles, or mulch around the pot and check occasionally to make sure it does not dry out, even in winter the roots need to stay moist. You can probably nurse it through to spring and then begin the process to rebuild the tree.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

I’d say it was kept indoors where it did not get enough light, was not kept humid enough (indoor air is notoriously dry), the soil was allowed to dry out (hinoki hate dry soil), and was sloppily repotted leaving the surface roots exposed. In other words they did everything wrong.

I was thinking that same thing to start with. So hard to tell at this point.

Especially due to unknowns about previous owners horticultural care, media profile, drainage situation and amount of watering since acquired.

Surface leaves on Hinoki rarely suddenly turn brown, unless put in intense sun and heat… (just worked on a sun damaged Hinoki at Elandan Gardens two weeks ago) …or a root issue…. Hence the need for a root check. Takes so little time, and gives one a complete look at the entire bonsai system.

Have been consistently amazed by what I find ‘under the hood’ of trees we work on.

… Good research on the weather in Merry ole’ England

Just my thoughts.

cheers
DSD sends