Recently acquired Korean Fir

[SleepChamber]

I went to Zanesville, Ohio a week or two ago to look for cheap antique stoneware and clay pots (Roseville, McCoy, etc.) for next spring and stopped at a favorite nursery of mine just to gander. I ended up walking away with a Hinoki, JWP, and a Korean Fir all in 3 gal nursery pots. I know the Korean Fir aren’t favorable for bonsai but I may just keep it as a specimen in my garden. I’ve never actually taken care of this species before and am having issues with it....... all three of the trees I bought have pests right now. I noticed a small web on the Hinoki and the Fir has bag worms which I pinched off and burned. The JWP had a few bag worms too. I’ve treated all trees with Bonide systemic insect spray which hasn’t taken full effect yet.....but this Fir is really scaring me because it is rapidly declining it seems while the others seem strong and healthy albeit the small pests problem . I noticed when watering the Fir for the first time last week that there is some kind of black fabric barrier below it’s topsoil that’s edges surface around the trunk. I tried tugging at it but it seems that roots have now grown through it and removing it would destroy the top inch of its root system ( what the fuck!). Also the weather here in Ohio has been awful for the past week which could be contributing to the trees stress. It’s been 90 degrees during the day and the. 50 to 60 at night with constant winds all day and night. I’ve been giving each tree sufficient water but this fabric barrier around the firs topsoil is like a rubber mat and all of the water pools then drains around the trunk so I’m not really sure how much is being disbursed to the rest of the rootball. The Fir itself has about a 5 foot spread so it’s kind of hard to take it out of the pot to check its roots although I know it’s critical that I look at this point..... here are some photos if anyone has any advice. The nursery owners are not answering their landline or returning my calls because I think they went on vacation. I’m too stingy to bring an arborist around. The most effected side of this tree is the side that faces southwest in my garden so I’m also questioning sun scald from the extreme heatwave this week

 

[Forsoothe!]

Here's two cents that may be irrelevant: plants that have been in a pot too long often/sometimes are rootbound and have circling roots and the water is shed down the insides of the pot between the plastic walls and the circling roots, while the center of the pot remains bone dry. In my mind, I'm unsure which is worse for the plant: being rootbound where the newest roots are impacting the plastic container and can't grow more feeder roots because there's essentially no soil medium in which to grow, or the fact that an important portion of the root zone: the central core, is bone dry and is essentially not able to contribute anything to the life of the tree.

I'm unclear on whether or not that dry core is dormant, dead or parasitic, important or unimportant.

You might want to calculate (guess) how much water the pot should take up in normal conditions, add that volume, and see what percentage is retained verses drains out. If too much escapes, sitting it in a pan of water to see how much is absorbed through the bottom might also be instructive.

 

[SleepChamber]

Here's two cents that may be irrelevant: plants that have been in a pot too long often/sometimes are rootbound and have circling roots and the water is shed down the insides of the pot between the plastic walls and the circling roots, while the center of the pot remains bone dry. In my mind, I'm unsure which is worse for the plant: being rootbound where the newest roots are impacting the plastic container and can't grow more feeder roots because there's essentially no soil medium in which to grow, or the fact that an important portion of the root zone: the central core, is bone dry and is essentially not able to contribute anything to the life of the tree.

I'm unclear on whether or not that dry core is dormant, dead or parasitic, important or unimportant.

You might want to calculate (guess) how much water the pot should take up in normal conditions, add that volume, and see what percentage is retained verses drains out. If too much escapes, sitting it in a pan of water to see how much is absorbed through the bottom might also be instructive.

Thank you. What would be conducive to the trees health based on the results of this test afterwards? Repot?

 

[Forsoothe!]

If the results of the test says a dry core may be the problem, do something to make it better. I don't like to repot/mess with roots in autumn, but I don't know anything about your species. I would take it out of the pot and essentially slip-pot it into the ground without touching the roots until next spring when I would do the major root work to open up the rootball and make decisions at that time. At least the rootball would be in contact with surrounding moist soil long enough to take up moisture to a more normal level in the interim period. Trees in pots are always subject to two things that are problematic: the air temps vary widely up and down in a black pot sucking up the sun's warmth in the daytime and cooling substantially at night, back-and-forth every day, especially in autumn. Compared to the ground just gradually coasting down in autumn, it can be a big deal for a sick plant. Also, the moisture conditions in a pot cycle really fast verses the ground that is rarely sodden and also rarely bone dry. Putting a tree in some kind of trouble into the ground is the least stressful environment and gives you some time to think.