yellowing needles on Scot's Pine - help?!

OK, so in an impulsive moment I picked up a Scot's Pine recently as it's owner was selling a lot of his collection at a good price. This tree was sitting in it's soil but out of it's pot, part way through repotting (which helped with the price!).

Now, I've never owned aa pine before but was keen to get it into a pot. So I removed most of the existing soil (mistake number 1???) but used a few handfuls of old mix in the new mix, kept virtually all of the existing fine root and potted up it up in a free draining mix. That was a week ago. The tree has resided in a spot that is shaded all morning but gets the sun from 2pm onwards. It has been really quite warm (up to 20 C) the last few days. I've watered only when the surface soil is dry and misted the foliage every evening.

Over the last couple of days, I've been horrified to notice that some of the needles have turned yellow at the edges. This hasn't happened to all needles (yet...) but seems to be getting worse where it does occur. I've moved the tree to a more sheltered spot in deperation.

What am I doing wrong??? Was it my rush to get it in a pot? Should I have retained more of the old soil? Is it just getting too hot? Is there any hope? Maybe don't answer the last one...

Here is a picture, if that helps



I'd be really grateful for any advice, it's a nice piece of material and I hate to lose anything.

Many thanks

Matt

Is it only the old needles ? or the younger ones near the candles ?
if its the old ones i wouldnt worry , mines just done the same and the new back buds are forming where these old needles are . all my pines are in full sun from 6 till 5 and they thrive , i would give it as much sun as possible .
it could be the shock of Cheshire being so hot instead of wet , its not normal .

tim

Could be needle cast Matt. Those needles look brown rather than yellow? A copper fungicide might be a good idea.

Thanks for the replys.

Tim - it is occurring on younger needles near the candles, not just the older ones. You're right about the weather though, it has been a very dry spring indeed.

Will - the needles at first turned yellow then turned towards brown and the discolouration is progressing from the tips of needles towards the base.

Two other things for consideration: before potting the tree up, it spent 2 days in my garage with only light from the window. Could this just be lack of light?. Also, the old soil was VERY dry when I potted it up - could this be a sign of stress through drought?

I've moved the tree to a sunny spot in the garden and will see how it fares.

Thanks for the advice

Matt

I very much doubt 2 days without light will have any effect at all. Lots of trees suffer occasionally with some sort of fungal attack. The soil being on the dry side shouldn't effect the tree either. Pines are quite droubt tolerant and need to be on the dry side when repotting,to remove the old soil.