Lee Burkhill: Award Winning Designer & BBC 1's Garden Rescue Presenters Official Blog
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Quote from batstone17 on 23rd April 2023, 12:45 pm
Hello everyone,
Very rookie plant grower here. We got this small Christmas tree for our small flat about 14 months ago. It was neglected last summer and dried out, with the spines turning brown.
I have repotted the tree now in new fertiliser, but I haven’t seen much evidence of recovery.
Should I give up on this little guy or should I just give it some more time? Do I need to remove the brown spines?
Thanks for your help!
Hello everyone,
Very rookie plant grower here. We got this small Christmas tree for our small flat about 14 months ago. It was neglected last summer and dried out, with the spines turning brown.
I have repotted the tree now in new fertiliser, but I haven’t seen much evidence of recovery.
Should I give up on this little guy or should I just give it some more time? Do I need to remove the brown spines?
What a shame your confiders turned brown! That's what dehydration does when a plant is forgotten about or left to literally dry out.
https://youtu.be/VpIIaKM69eo
There is some hope though with those green shoots. However, it's going to be short-lived sadly.
The only problem with coniferous plants like pines, spruces and firs is that once their growth dies, it doesn't regenerate. The same as cutting back to old wood, new growth will not follow like other shrubs and plants.
So although there's green growth emerging the brown stuff will never turn green again or regrow. Leaving for an awkwardly shaped tree which will take years to recover and probably struggle now for the rest of its life even with feed.
Learn from the experience. Lift, cut, dry and reuse either in a bug hotel or as kindling. Focus your efforts on your next success instead of mourning this loss!
What a shame your confiders turned brown! That's what dehydration does when a plant is forgotten about or left to literally dry out.
There is some hope though with those green shoots. However, it's going to be short-lived sadly.
The only problem with coniferous plants like pines, spruces and firs is that once their growth dies, it doesn't regenerate. The same as cutting back to old wood, new growth will not follow like other shrubs and plants.
So although there's green growth emerging the brown stuff will never turn green again or regrow. Leaving for an awkwardly shaped tree which will take years to recover and probably struggle now for the rest of its life even with feed.
Learn from the experience. Lift, cut, dry and reuse either in a bug hotel or as kindling. Focus your efforts on your next success instead of mourning this loss!
Lee Burkhill: Award Winning Designer & BBC 1's Garden Rescue Presenters Official Blog
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