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Black conifer

galaisanelfgalaisanelf Posts: 5
in Problem solving
So I bought this little conifer (don't know the species specifics) two weeks ago and it's turning black. Does anyone know what it's happening to it?

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Can you tell us more about where it is growing and how you are caring for it please  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • galaisanelfgalaisanelf Posts: 5
    Dovefromabove said:
    Can you tell us more about where it is growing and how you are caring for it please  :)
    It's growing in my balcony, in a big pot. The woman that sold it to me said that I should water it when the soil gets dry, so that's what I've been doing. The thing is that's really hot where I am at, so maybe I've over watered it, but I honestly can't tell. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited January 2019
    If it’s really hot where you are you’re probably not in the UK as most of us on this forum are   B)
    Where in the world are you and your tree?  That will help us with suggestions. 
    I’m not very knowledgeable on conifers but several folk are ... hopefully one of them will see this ...
    Perhaps @treehugger80 or @Paul B3 can help?

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • galaisanelfgalaisanelf Posts: 5
    Dovefromabove said:
    If it’s really hot where you are you’re probably not in the UK as most of us on this forum are   B)
    Where in the world are you and your tree?  That will help us with suggestions. 
    I’m not very knowledgeable on conifers but several folk are ... hopefully one of them will see this ...
    Perhaps @treehugger80 or @Paul B3 can help?
    I'm in Argentina right now, in Buenos Aires, with a temperature of 23°C. Thanks for the help :)
  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,154
    It looks (in my opinion) like your tree is infected with Phytophtora ; commonly known as
    Black-rot or Root-rot , or I may be totally wrong here .
    Have you checked the root system ?
    With woody plants , the symptoms of overwatering only manifest themselves at a later date ; with herbaceous material the signs are immediately apparent .
    Had the vendor kept the plant too wet ? Maybe that's why she said to water when the soil becomes dry .
    Is it possible she was attempting to 'cover' herself ??
    All this is not much help to you , but have a try at checking the root-system .
  • galaisanelfgalaisanelf Posts: 5
    Paul B3 said:
    It looks (in my opinion) like your tree is infected with Phytophtora ; commonly known as
    Black-rot or Root-rot , or I may be totally wrong here .
    Have you checked the root system ?
    With woody plants , the symptoms of overwatering only manifest themselves at a later date ; with herbaceous material the signs are immediately apparent .
    Had the vendor kept the plant too wet ? Maybe that's why she said to water when the soil becomes dry .
    Is it possible she was attempting to 'cover' herself ??
    All this is not much help to you , but have a try at checking the root-system .
    I've checked it and it looks fine, really. And I don't think the vendor had anything to do with it, the plant was perfectly fine when I bought it .Now I've transplanted it into another pot, with dry soil, I'm going to see if it gets better or something and if it doesn't, I'm going to buy some kind of pesticide (which one do you recommend?).
  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,154
    Sounds like a good idea ; are there any visible signs of a pest on your plant ?
    Probably a systemic fungicide would be more practical ?
    I don't know the availability or brands you can get in Argentina .
  • galaisanelfgalaisanelf Posts: 5
    Paul B3 said:
    Sounds like a good idea ; are there any visible signs of a pest on your plant ?
    Probably a systemic fungicide would be more practical ?
    I don't know the availability or brands you can get in Argentina .
    Apart from the black spots, nothing. 
    I ended up spraying it with a fungicide today, so there's that. 
    Mmmm, yeah, probably what you have over there and what we have isn't really the same; I'll just wait I guess and see if it gets better.
    Thanks for the help!
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