Brown tips on Carsten’s Mugo Pine

2 years ago

Bought a Carsten's Wintergold Mugo pine about 5 weeks ago and after 2 weeks in the ground, in full sun, I noticed the ends of needles turning brown. I took it back up and have had it in the shade for a week thinking the problem might be sun damage but it looks worse.
I’m in Z 8b, Willamette Valley area, OR. Been gardening avidly only since retirement a few years ago.
I saw a post here about a fungal issue but there were no photos so don’t know if that’s the problem or I mistreated it somehow. Can you help me it out what it needs or is all hope lost?

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Comments (5)

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
2 years ago
How did you care for it in the three weeks before planted and the two weeks after?

tj
HU-492438979
2 years ago
Brown tips on leaves of many plant species can be due to under watering but I’ve never grown a pine like this. I’m guessing it’s in a pot since you moved it. Potted plants usually need daily watering (however many factors come into play here, like the size of the pot, whether it’s in direct sun, ambient temperature and of course species of plant) as pots dry out much quicker than ground soil. It may do better in the ground if you can’t dial in it’s watering needs in a pot. Just make sure it’s meeting its light requirements if you do decide to transplant it.
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It'll be a certain amount of fingers crossed for the rest of this winter and throughout the summer. The mix couldn't be improved to absolute perfection, time & money preclude that. So it's like the best 4 star insurance. I can't stop it raining or cover all the pots so that will have to be; drought is more manageable but the risk of overwatering in the event won't be more dangerous than the rain. Rapid drying out of the top few inches could catch me out, the containers are already mulched well for frost so that will work out. Monitoring the weather for a hot spring (again) will be important. I can water everything in 20 mins before work so no excuse to be caught out. I see no reason to be pessimistic, the possible loss of one or two fussy ones will always make gaps that don't stay gaps long ; )
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I am in MA also, and it was really bad last year, and looks to be equally as bad this year. This damage is actually being caused by two things: cankerworm and winter moth. The bad news is that the new growth on Norway spruce is their favorite feast for conifers. They like the deciduous trees better, but will not pass up a meal of fresh Norway growth. They just about stripped the top of my 'Gold Drift' last year. I was totally unprepared, never saw anything like this on a conifer. Oh yea, Mugo pine is the only other conifer they like better than my norways. They did tremendous damage to my 15yr old Mugo that had never been attacked before. No joke, you can hear them crunching on the ends of the needles. They even eat the mature needles on the Mugo They are back in full force again this year. I'm testing out out Safer brand Bacillus thuringiensis. Hope it works. The 'Gold Drift' recovered nicely this year, but I don't know if it can take another year in a row of attacks! June 2015 May 2016 https://ag.umass.edu/fact-sheets/winter-moth-overview
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I believe you are downing it. Things you can do and hope that you can save it: 1 - Make sure the media is really well-drained. 1 part soil. 1 part pine bark (small size). 1 part peat moss. 1 part chicken grits. 2 - Drill more holes at the bottom of the pot. 4 holes are ideal. 3 - Water one every two weeks. You need to do these things ASAP or it will have root rot and die. It did push out new growth ... so the media seems o.k. Just stop watering now and make sure that the media is slightly moist but not wet. Let the media dry out, then water again. Good luck. J.N PS: P.M 'Jakobsen' takes full sun, but for now - while it is in shock - move it a part-shade area, preferring morning sun. Once it recovers, move it back to sunny area. Also you might want to report it. Put a layer of pine bard inside, around the pot to isolate the heat. Your pot is black and it will attract a lot of heat during the day.
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I'm a half hour north of Denver. I've killed Thunderhead, several densifloras and bristlecones. What I'm having better luck with are mugos and sylvestris. Mops and Carsten's are doing fine, although Mops is in mostly shade and Carstens in full sun has burned a bit. I have a sylvestris Albyn's that's taken the drought and bomb cyclone (silly name for a big blizzard) just fine. One that has really surprised me is tsuga canadensis 'Jervis'. It's getting about 3 hours morning sun and some wind protection. It's had some tip dieback, but done pretty well. I thought that one would just curl up and die! I bought tsuga canadensis 'Abbott's Pygmy' to try this year, along with some chamaecyparis obtusa, Nana, Thoweil, Fernspray Gold and a pisifera 'Tsukumo' sawara cypress. These are all going in the same bed with morning sun and afternoon shade. I'm not sure where in the state you are and it sounds like you're planting in a full sun area. A lot of conifers here benefit from afternoon shading and I'll admit to using lawn chairs for that purpose their first year. I second whaas's comment on protecting from winter sun here for the first year or 2. I think a chamaecyparis or hinoki will just fry here in full sun. How do you feel about pinon and monophylla? Blue Jazz, Tiny Taylor and a few others should take full sun. Pinus mugo 'Big Tuna' or Tannenbaum might work for you, too.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
it was stressed form shipping from grower to seller

it was stressed from moving from seller to your house

it was stressed from planting..

you stressed it again by un planting it ...

wait for it.. its stressed ... stop stressing it ...

note that new growth was just fine.. and this was older leaves.. and that is stress related.. if not also winter damage ... increased after stress...

i dont understand where it is now.. back in the pot??? .. i might just leave it in that pot until fall ... water properly.. which means let it near dry in between waterings ... keep it in full bright shade for at least a month ...

and pretend you never read about some random disease process.. its stressed ...

ken

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUvzzEtNevY&ab_channel=spdwolf
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
ummm... also.. if this is the gold version... its supposed to be yellow .. wonder how sure that label name is ...

and.. its a conifer.. a tree ... it will not stop growing in your lifetime ... so place it appropriately ... with room for lots of future growth ..

this is how i look for an idea of future growth potential ...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=Pinus+mugo+%27Carstens%27&iax=images&ia=images
sisterwitch
Original Author
2 years ago
While it was in the pot, before planting, it was in 6 hrs of sun and checked daily to see if it was dry and needed water. In the ground, full sun, I checked for water needs every 2 days. I’m putting in a new garden area of dwarf conifers and Japanese acers so had a number of new plants to monitor. The delay in planting was waiting on a landscape company that was to put in 3 larger trees after we lost 5 trees in an ice storm in February. I’ll just say there were issues.
The Carsten’s Is in a pot now in bright shade and I check it daily. Wintergold is yellow only in winter like Chief Joseph and some other pines, I believe. It had a gold tinge to it when I got it. I’ll include a photo from 4/18/21 when I brought it home.
Stress makes perfect sense. The plant does look better today with new growth shooting up. I’ll keep it in the pot, in bright shade, until fall and check it daily (2” into the soil) to see if it needs more water. Thank you for all your help.

Brown tips on Carsten’s Mugo Pine

Comments (5)

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱

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Brown tips on Carsten’s Mugo Pine

Comments (5)

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱

HU-492438979

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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