Moni

Matt, I agree with Alain. We have been on the lookout for SOD for over a year in Oregon and it has shown up in a couple of nurseries which were immediately quarantined. But phytopthera is water-born in the soil, so that is something that we do have control over with our bonsai. SOD IS an issue for us, however, when we buy potted plants from nurseries that we then turn into bonsai. So if anyone has a plant that is not thriving and has the symptoms that you have described, they should get rid of it. Especially if it is in a grow box with other prebonsai.

As for disinfecting tools, I am not sure if your method is quite enough. Oregon State Univ. has done some testing on disinfecting tools and found that the longer you can keep tools in the disinfecting solution, the better. They are now recommending 1/2 hour in a bleach solution or ethyl alcohol. Yes, I agree that is not very convenient and I very seldom do that myself, but with SOD on the loose, I just might rethink my own practices. Now that I have read Alain's intro. in the General section, I would be curious to hear his thoughts on this issue.
Moni