Climate change effect/killing on Japanese Black Pine

wadek

OK, I have grown a bunch of pines, but am having LOTS of troubles with the Japanese Black Pine 18" seedlings taking transplanting in #2 pots.

I assume the JBP does not like changing different climates very well. I bought a dozen seedlings, put them #2 pots with 50% Turface and 50% Scott's premium top soil. Water, moist but not swamped. Kept them indoors in medium bright light 70 degrees. They showed no signs of improvement, just dried up and turned khaki brown and dead from the base up. I assume the roots dried out too much and they did not make the mail order journey.

Second dozen are lasting a little longer, but are turning khaki dead from the bottom up, and from the needle tips inward. I brought this batch outdoors with temps from 40 degrees to 70 degrees. Shade, except one hour of sun per day. No sign of bugs or disease. Some show yellow in the needles, but mostly going straight to brown.

These seedlings are coming to me with 3 inch candles, where in MN the natural outdoor candles are .25 of an inch. I know JBP cant take winter temps below zero, so they will need to be protected over the winter.

Is the climate change killing these? or what else could it be?

Advertisement

Vonsgardens

Wadek,
I believe with sincerity that it is you not cliamte change that is responsible. When did you trnasplant them, were they DOA from the sipper? Why are you buying JBP by the dozen bareroot vs buying them in 2" pots and paying the extra $5 in shipping.

Don't blame climate change for this one- exept maybe of taking the poor things into an almost 0% humidity house at 70 degrees for a period.

Cheers,
John
(Before you respond in haste go check my threads on JBP)

__________________
"Wiring is simple; However, it is not easy to do it right" Boon

Cathie

Hi, as you may realize, pines need to live outdoors year round, but JBP's need a more temperate climate than Minnesota's - it's just too cold there, but that has little to do with your new ones, which I believe you may have 'drowned'. Pines, even young ones to some extent, need gritty, coarse soil that drains very fast, and should only be watered when a fair amount of the soil they are in now (rather than the above) is dry, as opposed to being wet all the time. You've been killing them with kindness (you thought :-) but really probably doing it way too often.

froufrou

Try 100% turface, or with some pine bark in it.

If you are ordering so many, use different watering schedules to find out whether you are watering too much, if you really want to find out whether you under/over watered your earlier batches.

When you say dry out and die, how long does that take?

Also what kind of light are you using, it may be too bright, if you use high wattage HPS or metal halide. Easier to keep it outside and use the sun.

eeiko321

i thought JBP responds really well with tough environments?

and would have no problems in US?

Groghunter

JBP are almost never listed hardy to a zone lower than 5, and I think even 5 is too cold for them.

Try Japanese red pine, pinus densiflora, they're supposed to be zone 4 hardy.

Unless you have a sophisticated heating/lighting/humidifying system and a lot of know how bringing pines indoors is probably never a good idea.

Vonsgardens

JBP will do fine in a "normal" zone 5 in the US. There are areas of Zone 7 in the US where they can't live- because it is too cold in the summertime and frequent summertime freezes will whack them.

I try not to let my JBP in shallow ceramic pots go below 20 F, when on/in the ground -10 to -15 F for short periods haven't killed em but it sure has kicked em. Minnesota at zone 4- and the extended periods of moderate to intense cold will killem dead. A tree that will do well, buried in the winter and wind protected, are ponderosas.

John

__________________
"Wiring is simple; However, it is not easy to do it right" Boon

wadek

First week all green, second week half brown, third week, its all over.
I agree with too much moisture in their weak state. They do have some shock from the bare root journey, and I did water them like hardy zone 4 trees. I do have a conservative green house that is temp and light controlled for wintering. It is "normal" climate now. My light is under control, but with all of your help, I realize that I need to increase the Turface up to 80 to 90%.

Where can you buy JBP in 2" pots? Please post the contact.

And- Yea, no problem with the Japanese Red Pine, those are fine here in MN.

Thanks for all of your comments. I knew the JBP was fragile, but with you help, I will figure it out. The Austrian Black Pine works real well here....but it is not the classic JBP.
Cheers!

waltr

Check Evergreen Gardenworks:
http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/