Let's see if this works:

did you actually see any scale???

ken

Ken,

I saw a bunch of white fuzzy stuff where the needles join the buds. Seemed like more than the usual pine resin you see there (some pictures I saw of pine scale on the internet looked similar); I may have overreacted, because I've seen a bunch of mature pine trees in our neighborhood suddenly die this year.

In any event, the only cultural difference this year from 2008 and 2009 has been an extremely wet Spring. But because of the rain, I haven't been watering the yard...so I don't think the pine has been overwatered.

It looks very damp in the area.
How was the root-ball treated at the time of planting?
Is the trunk soft and spongy?

Josh

Josh,

It was just watered prior to the photo. I don't have an irrigation system, so I water by hand about every 2-3 days.

Purchased it as a junior conifer from Klehm Song Sparrow Farms, so there was no root ball (it came in a 1.68 pint pot).

The trunk seems fine (keep in mind, the entire plant is only about 6 inches tall).

Needles are browning out. Plant doesn't look healthy. Save your receipt...your going to need it.

Dave

Anything -- anything at all -- I can do to prevent such an outcome?

The purchase price was nominal, but I've invested 2.5 years in this conifer and would hate to see it go. Especially since it was doing so well until just a few weeks ago.

(On a side note, this is one of my frustrations with dwarf conifers; it seems that they rarely give any kind of advance warning of a problem. By the time you detect an issue, it's usually too late)

The situation looks pretty bad from where I'm sitting.

How long was it grown in a container? Or was it planted immediately (from the 1.68 pint pot)?

Josh

You ready for a crazy answer:

Get some scissors and cut off anything that's brown. Don't worry about sterilizing between cuts. Once you've finished, move it to a temporary site that is morning sun only or a few three hours or less of afternoon sun. Check to see timing applications with that systemic and hit it again if you're able to do so.

Leave any buds that appear healthy (even if the foliage around them is brown. Use the healthy foliage clusters as a guide to determine which to keep). Conifers won't like the power of Sulphur fungicide. I'd be reluctant to use anything, except, Copper. Also, fertilize this plant to help strengthen it along for any insects/diseases that will try to attack it. I would fertilize it every other week with Mir-acid (water one week, fertilizer the next), ceasing fertilization the second week of August. Then at the very beginning of when the snow starts falling but when the ground isn't frozen, "any given day" to send a last jolt of energy to the roots for when next spring roles around. Next year - fertilize it once a month. That should be enough. If you got it to rebound, move it during Spring 2012 to a new location, far from where it is now.

In the meantime, keep on with the copper until you see improvement. It will be especially important for you to spray a fungicide just as the buds are opening, beginning of next year; then when the new growth needles are fully extended, and when you can see a bud being formed/auxiliary growth (next year - about this time of year or a few weeks ago). Always spray on a cool day when temps are at or below 65 degrees, never when it's past 70 degrees F.

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I believe this is the wild answer you're looking for.
Mulch it, wait and see what happens.
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Option B: Burn it and plant something else in that location ;0)

Dax

Thanks, Dax. I'll give it a try. I don't mind losing an occaisional plant during the first year following planting, but once they've put down roots -- it just drives me bonkers.

So it sounds like your diagnosis is some kind of fungus? The wet June we had would certainly be conducive to fungal growth (just ask my rose bushes!)

When you say Copper, would that be some sort of Bordeaux type of application?

Yeah, liquid Copper. You can buy it dry (suspension) but liquid is the way to go. Go ahead and drench the ground, too.

Dax

in my experience.. mugo like it hot.. and dry .... and sunny .... they just dont care [once established of course] ...

what i see is one planted in a very damp location[for a conifer] .. a lot of shade from huge lily .... and extremely lush according to all the other plants ... this might be a case of loving it to death .... it is just in too good a location for a 'scrub' mugo .....

its hard to tell if it came terminal .... short of digging it up ...

personally i would not do what dax suggests.. i am just not willing to invest that kind of money in trying to save it .... though i would move it in fall .... and i would move it out back where i didnt have to look at it for a year or two ... and wouldnt be surprised if it recovered ... all things done properly ...

all conifers shed their needles .... and with one or 2 years of growth.. these needles will be gone ... if it doesnt die in the interim.. lol ..

ken

Nah, I just watered it prior to taking the photo. I can't afford an irrigation system right now, so I do everything by hand. It's in a fully exposed location, so it gets full sun (that is, when our erratic Illinois weather permits the sun to shine).

Incidentally, it has been 90 degrees plus for about a week now, but Teeny seems to be holding steady. I'm counting the days until dormant season...

Here's a one year (10 months actually) follow-up. I've been religiously applying copper (per Dax) and also giving the plant systemic protection with acephate spray. Don't know what the original culprit was, but it did seem to affect a number of my dwarf pines in 2010 (I lost a new planting of Pinus aristata 'Joe's Bess' to the same culprit).

In any event, it does seem like it pulled through in pretty good shape. Kudos to Dax for the copper advice...my gut feeling is that's what made the difference.

A look closer up:

Good for you. I'm trying to establish Pinus jeffreyi here and I'm spraying copper during it's young years - and after it's six-eight feet tall, then the copper stops. That's about the only way to establish jeffreyi in the mid-west.

This is a completely different situation than that of your's but the same principle is involved. You should continue the copper for a few more years. If after that you see symptoms, keep it up for another full year until, it halts completely.

Congrats!

Dax

Yeah, I'm spraying all of my mugo pines with copper this year. Just like last year, we've had an incredibly wet spring...so conditions seem ripe for fungal infections.