Imagine that you have purchased a pine, either as a bonsai or in a pot. It’s beautiful, but after a few months you look at it and it looks brown and lifeless. You touch it (be careful not to prick yourself) and it collapses. And when you look closer, he’s dead… Why does pine in a pot dry out and not in the ground?
Well, here you will find some of the reasons pot pine dries up, as well as some solutions you could implement to try and save it. It’s difficult, we’ve already told you, but it’s not impossible. Shall we start?
Why potted pine dries out
Having a tree in a pot is something very pleasant. Especially if we are talking about bonsai or striking structures (for example, a waterfall). However, all that they are beautiful disappears when you start to notice that they have dried up and the beauty they once had is no longer found. What do you do in such cases?
You see, there are several reasons why this happens to pines.. And the most common are usually the following:
You’ve gone too far with the irrigation
In general, pines are trees that do not need a lot of watering. Being in a pot, they require more watering than if they were in the ground, but not much more either.
In this case, this reason can come, in turn, from several factors:
Because it has unsuitable land. Keep in mind that pines need a porous, light, well-drained substrate to do well. If it does not have good soil and is suitable for the species of pine you have, it is normal for it to consume it and not finding the nutrients it needs, the pine will dry out.
Because it has poor drainage. Did you notice the bottom of the pot? Does it have drainage holes? Sometimes you don’t realize it, and when you water, the water stays in that area and causes it to accumulate, to the point of rotting the roots. At first you might not realize it, but later you will see that it affects the rest of the tree.
Lack of oxygen on earth. Imagine you are watering. It is normal for water to accumulate in the free areas of the earth, where the oxygen would be. But since he is busy with water, he will soon run out of it. If you water more, you cause the plant to drown. because carbon dioxide appears and with it it loses its permeability in the roots. What causes this? Well, it can’t absorb water or nutrients.
As you see, overwatering can dry out your pine. It is also one of the most common causes and the only solution is that you control very well how much irrigation water you are going to add and how often.
Lack of light
Like any plant, potted pine needs light to grow, photosynthesis… Although in the case of pines they do well with direct sun, everything will depend on the type of pine you have. Some will be able to tolerate direct light, but others will not.
Even if the potted pine you have is one that you can leave in full sun, if it is a young specimen we do not recommend it because the rays can burn it, and you will be in serious trouble. But having it in the shade is also not the solution.
Lack of light prevents the tree from growing properly and getting the nutrients it needs. And having light doesn’t mean you have to be in direct sunlight. In reality, as long as it has indirect light, and maybe a few hours of direct light at the start or end of the day, it will be more than enough.
Dreaded pests and diseases
Just because you have a potted pine doesn’t mean it’s free from pests and diseases that can affect it.
In fact, they will affect you just as much or more than if you were on the ground. And often it is a consequence of the wrong watering that is given.
For example, one of the fungi is Phytophthora cinnamomi, which begins to attack secondary roots (they are responsible for absorbing water and nutrients). Later, they move to the primaries and finally to the base of the trunk. Moreover, it usually affects other plants.
Another of the mushrooms, which in this case goes directly to the trunk and branches, is Seiridium cardinale. They infect the specimen directly from the aerial part and continue until it is dry.
Now these two should not appear only when there is excess water. Sometimes that doesn’t need to happen for them to attack.
They are not the only ones, Another deadly fungus for a potted pine is the nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. This strange name causes pinewood nematode disease, which causes pine trees to die within 1-3 months due to drought or sudden wilting.
This is why we recommend that you monitor it closely. so that none of this happens to you.
lack of humidity
Some pines need a little higher humidity than others. That’s why it’s important to know what type of pin you have in hand. Or between pots.
In this case, the lack of moisture is noticeable, as the pine begins to dry from the outside to the inside. That is, the leaves it has dry out from the outermost to the innermost.
To solve this problem and try to recover it, what you can do is to add a mulch of dry leaves on top of the pot, as a cover, so that the humidity in the soil is maintained longer. It can also be a hazard as it will cause you watering problems if you don’t take it seriously.
Another option is to place a humidifier and check that it is at the correct level.
When a potted pine dries out or sits there, it is difficult to save it. You can try it by monitoring irrigation, lighting, nutrients, etc. but it is sometimes difficult to recover it. Have you ever had it? What did you do to achieve this?