I have a young monkey puzzle tree sapling about 8 ins tall which is growing very nicely but have noticed the leaves at the ends of branches are turning pale yellow/brown. It is still very strong and actively growing any advice would be welcome please.
How long has it been making pink new growth? Only just lately? Otherwise I might wonder if it was a genetic variant.
What sort of soil is it in? Looks like it might be peat-based, which is not good for it. It needs a well-drained grit-based mix, and also a much larger (particularly deeper) pot, or even better, planting outdoors in well-drained natural soil.
used miraclegrow compost so will change pot and soil and put outside will i need to bring indoors at night?
No, outdoors all the time, unless a really hard frost is forecast - and then only move it into an unheated shelter lika a garage for the duration of the freeze.
Sorry to say ,but in my experience ,that is not a good sign . Usually a precursor to death. However don`t give up on it ,you never know . Also peat in the soil mix is fine ,but yes grit is good , and other additions to the soil that give it loft , aeration and good drainage. Coco chunks are good for instance . I have been experimenting with Fir cones and Pine cones as aeration soil additives for the past three years . So far so good . Fir and Pine bark are also good . What they do not like is standing in water, constantly wet roots ,etc. . That may have been the cause of that seedlings problem. In my opinion and experience they can grow well in drier soil than commonly thought .Check out photos of their natural habitat in Chile . There is a great photo/poster titled 'Protect Chile`s Native Forest' published by Western Canada Wilderness Commitee, photo by Daniel Dancer. It is very descriptive illustration of the rocky terrain they can grow in . Although not an expert , I have been growing the trees for 16 years ,currently have over 1000 trees and seedlings, all growing in containers ,up to 12'tall . Cheers ,Pete regarding the Monkey Puzzle photo showing the tree growing in a native setting . I just did a quick search on Google Image using the key phrase ; ' wcwc Daniel Dancer ' . That photo was the first image that came up . Note the rocky terrain . cheers ,Pete Concerning the discolouration possibly being a genetic variant ,as per Ron`s suggestion . This following be interesting . Several years after beginning to grow MP trees , I sprouted a batch of seedling [1997] that were albinos {for lack of a better word at the moment] . There were about ten out of a hundred or so that were almost pure white . I was excited ,hoping for a new colour variation of the tree . So I gave them special attention ,growing them carefully indoors next to window just like the seedling in your photo Jeanybop . They grew for about 4 months and did as well as the other normally coloured seedling next to them , reaching 4 to 5 inches tall . Sadly though, as my advisor /sister a trained forestor predicted , they eventually died when put outdoors in the spring . An issue with lacking chlorophyll or something related to that if I recall . The other normal seedlings carried on growing . Some of which I still have growing in 60 gallon plus planter/containers .cheers Pete
i have been looking for a monkey tree to add to my tree collection, yet i can never find one small enough to bonsai. these trees are amazing and several grow in the victoria region of vancouver island bc. one is about 140 feet tall and done up like a christmas tree each year, just off haltain and cook st, behind that little park...if i am in the area next week when i pick up my broken camera, i will take some shots and post them. with any of my trees, that get tips that are dying, i usually cut them off, back to where the tree is healthy again, i don't know if this will work for you or not, but it couldnt hurt.
