Kishu Trouble

[81Libra]

super newb here, trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with my Kishu. Bought it in great shape, full, dark green foliage about a couple of months ago. Did a little lime sulphur work and pruned 2 small secondary branches back in May and a little while after that the whole tree turned light brown. It started to push green growth below the brown and I thought that it was on the up and up. I would occasionally pinch off the dead tips but it seems to continually turn from green to light “dusty” brown. I did a sort of up-pot into a wooden grow box to loosen up the soil and give the roots some room to breathe. Being a super newb, I thought I try the lovely ladies and gents on Bonsai Nut before I call it quits on this great lil Kishu. Cheers.
Pics: before work, after work, and last 3 were taken today, 9/8/24

 

[Dav4]

So, you may have made things worse by moving it to that box... it's way over-potted now. That, coupled with the severely compromised foliage, and I'll bet the soil never dries out, and junipers prefer it on the dry side. Unfortunately, the condition of the tree makes recovery unlikely, and without knowing more info, such as your location and where the tree has been kept these last few months, I can only guess at the cause. I've seen spider mites turn a branch or two on a single tree a sickly grey color over a month or two, but never an entire tree. Anyway, I wish you luck, but this one looks too far gone at this point.

 

[81Libra]

So, you may have made things worse by moving it to that box... it's way over-potted now. That, coupled with the severely compromised foliage, and I'll bet the soil never dries out, and junipers prefer it on the dry side. Unfortunately, the condition of the tree makes recovery unlikely, and without knowing more info, such as your location and where the tree has been kept these last few months, I can only guess at the cause. I've seen spider mites turn a branch or two on a single tree a sickly grey color over a month or two, but never an entire tree. Anyway, I wish you luck, but this one looks too far gone at this point.

Thanks so much Dav4, I appreciate your thoughts. I’m (unfortunately) inclined to agree with you regarding it being too far gone. Just FYI, I live in southern Colorado, where it’s fairly dry and hot in the summer and we”re at about 4,300ft above sea. The tree was getting about 3 hours of direct morning sun. I think it might’ve had a small problem with spider mites but I think they were dealt with quickly with neem oil spray. It’s a big bummer to loose this tree, I got it from Peter Tea in great shape. Thanks again.

 

[shimbrypaku]

What type of fertilizer is on the surface?

Could you have applied too much?

Thanks

 

[81Libra]

What type of fertilizer is on the surface?

Could you have applied too much?

Thanks

Biogold. So it’s not too strong. The box size/fertilizer ratio I think is okay since the size of the box is fairly large compared to the tree. Cheers.

 

[Paradox]

When did you spray it with neem oil and did you leave it in the sun when you treated it?

 

[81Libra]

When did you spray it with neem oil and did you leave it in the sun when you treated it?

Once it turned brown started to notice what I think was spider mites on a couple of my maples which had light webbing but on a large surface on the maples and the occasional tiny whitish spider/insect. I also noticed a little bit of webbing on the Kishu but just in a tiny spot near trunk, nothing like the maples and they’re doing fine. I sprayed it about 6 weeks ago just to be safe and left it in the shade that day. The pot it was in was 7.5H and W, 7.5D and soil was fairly compact so it may have been a case of overwatering but the pot was still able to drain so heck if I know. It still has a tiny bit of green, but I’m also an optimist LOL.

 

[M. Frary]

Yikes!

 

[defra]

I dont think this tree will bounce back...
I read the soil was compacted but it looks like its in a pot with a propper soil mix and it looked verry healthy ... juniperus can be in a pot for years ive got one juniper left in my collection wich is in the pot for about 6 years now im sure its completely rootbound but it still give decent growth so no reason to repot yet for me.
Find out what went wrong and prevent the same from happening in the future...
Ill list possible causes from the info provided in your posts.
I dont think it was because it was rootbound:

The neem oil (Ive never used it and dont know how harmfull this can Be)

Lime sulpher (did you cover the pot while applying and after it was aplied did it Rain or did you water the tree? So basicly are you sure none of the sulpher got in the soil? )

Messing with the roots put them in a bigger pot and over watering because the roots were disturbed and recovering they couldnt suply the foliage with enough moisture ?

Spider mites could weaken the tree but so fast an entire tree that was healthy i doubt it.
I hope you find the cause and be able to prevent the same thing from happening in the future !

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I want to suggest that next time you see one of your plants do something out of the ordinary, you start a thread.
This juniper is on its way out and it's unlikely to survive.

 

[81Libra]

I dont think this tree will bounce back...
I read the soil was compacted but it looks like its in a pot with a propper soil mix and it looked verry healthy ... juniperus can be in a pot for years ive got one juniper left in my collection wich is in the pot for about 6 years now im sure its completely rootbound but it still give decent growth so no reason to repot yet for me.
Find out what went wrong and prevent the same from happening in the future...
Ill list possible causes from the info provided in your posts.
I dont think it was because it was rootbound:

The neem oil (Ive never used it and dont know how harmfull this can Be)

Lime sulpher (did you cover the pot while applying and after it was aplied did it Rain or did you water the tree? So basicly are you sure none of the sulpher got in the soil? )

Messing with the roots put them in a bigger pot and over watering because the roots were disturbed and recovering they couldnt suply the foliage with enough moisture ?

Spider mites could weaken the tree but so fast an entire tree that was healthy i doubt it.
I hope you find the cause and be able to prevent the same thing from happening in the future !

Thanks Defra, for sharing these possibilities. RE: lime sulphur, I was super careful but didn’t cover soil. Maybe it was a culmination of things because I did the lime and light pruning consecutively, gave it a day and put it out in the sun. I have a feeling that after it turned brown I should’ve just left it alone instead of pinching off the dead foliage and exposing the under foliage to our hot dry sun. I did the ER re-pot hoping to save it but I think that’s a beginners mistake and I should’ve just left it alone. If by some miracle it makes it, I will re-post.

 

[81Libra]

I want to suggest that next time you see one of your plants do something out of the ordinary, you start a thread.
This juniper is on its way out and it's unlikely to survive.

Wires_guy_wires, excellent thought! I’m just realizing how gnarly everyone is on this site. It’s great how supportive this community is. Cheers.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

So sorry to see this tree's fatal decline. Some thoughts:

The original soil looked fine and the tree was healthy in that soil. Repot was unnecessary.

3hrs of morning sun is not nearly enough for a healthy juniper.

Ive never had an issue with neem on any plant but I rinse it thoroughly after about a 30 minute application before 11:00am. Given your tree was in a shaded location, shouldnt have been an issue.

Did you keep this tree inside or outside? I didnt see that response.

 

[81Libra]

So sorry to see this tree's fatal decline. Some thoughts:

The original soil looked fine and the tree was healthy in that soil. Repot was unnecessary.

3hrs of morning sun is not nearly enough for a healthy juniper.

Ive never had an issue with neem on any plant but I rinse it thoroughly after about a 30 minute application before 11:00am. Given your tree was in a shaded location, shouldnt have been an issue.

Did you keep this tree inside or outside? I didnt see that response.

Cheers. After it turned brown, I started checking for bugs and found what i think were spider mites and webbing a little bit on the Kishu and a bunch more on some maples(all close proximity). It was my first time using neem oil and I also sprayed a shohin sized Miyasama Trident and it shed all its leaves after (kind of weird) but is doing fine now along with the otherJM’s. I did the ER re-pot well after the tree turned brown as a Hail Mary (and because I struggled to get a moisture meter in the soil) so I know it wasn’t the cause of the initial problem. However, I don’t know if it really helped or made it worse. I’m learning the hard way that sometimes it’s better to be patient, and restrain myself from taking immediate action. Here’s a recent pic of the Miyasama Trident after the neem oil. Thanks for your input!

 

[81Libra]

.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Sooo was it kept inside or outside?

 

[81Libra]

Sooo was it kept inside or outside?

lol sorry, I edited that part out by accident. Definitely outside. . The tree was getting about 3 hours of direct morning sun.

 

[81Libra]

There’s still a tiny bit of green.

 

[Gabler]

There’s still a tiny bit of green.

That's a dead tree.

 

[81Libra]

That's a dead tree.

Bummer life