Anyone know what causes the browning on the tips?

===>>>> drought.. sunburn.. z5 winter ... whatever ...

IMHO .... all yellow tissue .. that stays yellow [vs. greening up] .... is subject to burn ... in my zone .... ESPECIALLY the pines ...

enjoy them in the early season.. and by fall ignore them.. which is accomplished by increasing your collection to 500 ... lol ..

why dont you ask don???? one would presume that if it were disease.. he of all peeps would be on top of it ... eh???

congrats on the babes.. proud papa ...

ken

Picea jesoensis 'Howell's Dwarf'

And yes :Picea glehnii 'Chitosemaru'

Clément

Okay.. Well, I would imagine sunburn is the most likely culprit. The soil was (at least when they arrived) quite moist, and we rarely are in zone 7 or 8. So, should I plant it in part shade just in case? Will the variegation be any less stunning if the plant is not in full sun? Thanks!
Thanks again, Clement!

-Sam

Picea jezoensis instead of Picea jesoensis...
Good choices Sam!

Hi Sam - I see you like firs. Welcome to the club.

You asked about what causes those brown tips... it's likely over-watering with soft-pines.

Lookin' good man!

Dax

my peuce is smaller than yours.. so no direct experience with such ...

some of the densiflora OD... after loosing every single needle 2 winters in a row... by the 3rd year ... probably by the time they were fully 'established' ... they are in full blistering sun year round ... and no longer burn at all .. again.. in my z5 ...

yes.. if you go toward too much shade .. you will have the potential to lose SOME of the coloration .... but that will be entirely dependent on your little micro climate ....

if you were to attempt the shade deal ... i would search for a spot with as much sun as possible.. with some shade when temps peak .. or the sun is at its most intense... so it would be somewhere between high noon .... and 5 pm ... but i dont know if i would go with losing all 5 hours ...

plants transpire.. they sweat .... so in intense sun .. they can lose more water than they can pump .. especially until fully established .... and any tissue that loses more water than it needs browns ... so anything you can dream up .. to help them sweat less is a plus ...

in theory.. if zone appropriate... heat is probably not an issue.. except when they can not pump enough water .... but sun plus heat.. well think about yourself digging a hole at 3 in the afternoon on 8/1 .... your edges will brown too ... lol ...

i am z5.. and am speculating that it should NOT be all that much different in your zone... where ever you may be .... if you were to remind us of your locale ... perhaps others zone similar peeps can be specific ...

ken

The more sun the better. The golden-coloration will hold w/o burning as the plant ages. And, then, it will become a more-striking specimen then if you had planted it in more, shade.

Ken - I appreciate your theory and it holds water (should there be water available to begin with...) but all pines grown in containers that get edge burn, are likely culprits to excessive watering. Another strong factor for burning (colder climates) is plants resting on pavement or, if shade cloth is not being used.

Sam's plants came from Zone 8. Those were definitely shaded in hoop-houses, therefore, it's pretty easy to draw a conclusion... of more water then necessary.

All pines, in fact don't like too much water and more broadly speaking yet, non-tropical conifers, will appreciate allowing the soil to dry up.

Dax

I live in the PNW. So plant it in part sun/part shade?

i would defer to Will as the resident PNW'er

ken

Full Sun... if it burns, then put a shade structure around it for 3 years.

Dax

I will refer to an expert like Bob Fincham or some other highly experienced PNW'er! While I have a specimen of this pine, I don't have enough experience to know what causes it to burn or if it burns as readily here. We're MUCH milder in Summer but also have much more Sunshine here in Summer then most of the gardening world.

Don sells a good variety of great plants and he's redone his inventory again this Summer. If I had the space(or $$$) I'd be making another order or two myself.

-Will

That's only if it burns, badly, Sam. I still have conifers here that need sun protection, but, they're becoming older and I'm not concerned about them dying.

I sincerely doubt that particular cultivar will have much, if few, problems. Then again, I am guessing. Just watch it.

Dax

All right. Thanks for the info., everyone.

-Sam