Very sick satsuki azalea

rlmurray

Any ideas about cause of old satsuki azalea on which all leaves except lowest branch are suddenly turning brown. No insects found. Last repotted two years ago. Looked good when removed from winter storage, SW Virginia. Bark looks a bit mottled and textured. Doubt it will survive, but appreciate any thoughts about cause.

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Aaron_K

Hi RLMurry,

I personally don't have any experience with Azaleas, apart from what I have read on my travels, so cannot offer you any specific advice unfortunately. To me though that does sound like a root problem of some description. Try scratching the bark on the branches that the leaves are turning brown on, to see if they are still green. If the branches don't have a green cambium layer, that's usually a good indication of roots dying/rotting.

I remember reading somewhere on the net a while ago about something similar happening to a bonsai. It wasn't an azalea, but the upper branches of the tree were dying for no apparent reason. After a thorough investigation, the cause was found to be dead/rotting roots.

Just out of interest, have you inspected the roots since the repotting of 2 years ago? Also is your soil acidic and is your water soft or hard?

Sorry I can't offer a concrete diagnosis, and so can only suggest what I would do, given the same scenario. Try the branch/bark scratch test first to see what is below.

The only other thing that might help is misting those leaves and branches and then placing a clear plastic bag over them in a bid to increase the humidity to stop them drying out. There is no guarantee it will work, but it may help in some small way.

Hopefully there will be someone with experience with azaleas who have encountered this problem before.

Fingers crossed that it survives.

All the best,

Aaron

JohnQuinn

Can you post a close up pic of the foliage?

rlmurray

Thanks Aaron and John, I haven't examined the roots. A bit frightened to disturb them with tree in this condition. I feed with Miracid because of alkaline water supply. I have been misting foliage but see nor results.

John, I would be pleased to provide photo of foliage, but this is my first experience with Bonsai talk, and I don't know how to post a photo. I'll try to figure it out. The leaves have turned brown and are dry. They are beginning to fall off when touched. Very bad sign!

Bob

Aaron_K

Hi again,

OK, if you can take a picture, re-size it using some graphics software so that its is a maximum of 801 x 801 pixels. File size I think is 73.9kb limit. Then all you do is click "Manage Attachments" when you are done typing a reply. A box will then appear. Simply browse to the destination of the file on your PC and hit "upload" and voila.

I was wondering how often you are fertilizing the tree also with Miracid. Over feeding the tree can cause root damage and kill it. I don't know how long you have been doing bonsai or what your level of experience is, so I apologize if any of this seems "basic" or almost "condescending" as it is not intended to be so, just trying to address the possibilities.

I can appreciate you don't want to tamper with the roots at this stage, its something I don't particularly like doing either. Definitely try the bark scratch test to ascertain what the level of demise is though.

I will try reading up some more on Azaleas so that I can hopefully be attuned to the species requirements. Let us know how you get on with the bark test first.

All the best,

Aaron

Lesley

I lost a very beautiful azalea (50 years old) two years ago and it made me so sad! Mine was from heat stroke which occured while I was on vacation. Brown leaves all over though. I babied it for 6 months hoping it would come back but I was too much of a newbie to know what to do and I doubt that it would have helped because it was probably too late. I should have had a bonsai expert sitting for me.

I hope you get help and that your tree is salvageable! Good Luck!

I feel your pain!

__________________
Ladybug

rlmurray

Thanks Aaron, I am sending (I hope and not of studio quality) images of the tree and foliage. The scratch test showed a dull green on the upper affected branches and a bright green on the lowest back branch which is so far not affected. Last year, I fed every other week between May and October primarily with water soluble plant food, but with occasional Miracid and occasional fish emulsion. I am tempted to lift it out of the pot to see how much root development has occurred in the past two years and if roots look viable.

Bob

Aaron_K

Hi Bob,

No pictures as yet. If you are having difficulty, PM me and I'll give you my email address. I'll then do the resizing and post the pictures on the forum for you if send them to me.

If by dull green you mean pale, almost apple white, that's not a particulary good sign, as the cambium is dying back. Lifting the tree from the pot to have a look at its roots, shouldn't cause to much harm. Its only really when you start tampering and hacking into roots, that a tree will react.

At the very least, I think you should inspect them, as I think this is the underlying reason for the problem. It could simply be that the tree has become pot bound, and having nowhere else for the roots to grow it is starving itself to death and therefore dying back above. Until you have done this, you aren't going to know what the state of play is.

Perhaps posting a pic of the root mass might help also. If you get any problems, just drop me a message either here or in PM and I'll get them posted for you.

All the best,

Aaron

rlmurray

I don't believe my photos were uploaded. I'll try again. Apparently my files were too large.

Bob