Ficus with possible Galls

Dwillow

I have a Ficus Benjamina that I separated from a group of 5 that had grown together. The Ficus has had one or two bug problems in the 3 years I've had it. It has been doing very well lately but all of a sudden has started getting growths on the roots. I'm worried that the growths are galls, which as far as I can tell mean the tree is as good as dead. I'm putting a picture of the entire tree as well as the growths. I keep the tree outside during the summer and inside by a window during the rest of the year.

Do you think they are galls and either way is there something I can do about the growths?

Attached Images

	Ficus.jpg (42.6 KB, 53 views)
	Ficus galls.jpg (27.6 KB, 71 views)

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acrouse

I have a tree with the same growths, looking forward to some experienced input here.

Art

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Never stop accepting change and never stop learning. Once you cease to be able to accept change and to learn; surely you will cease to exist. You see this in the trees? It applies personally as well.
Art

acrouse

^up^

__________________
Never stop accepting change and never stop learning. Once you cease to be able to accept change and to learn; surely you will cease to exist. You see this in the trees? It applies personally as well.
Art

pootsie

Galls are not a death-sentence for a ficus -- at least not the ones I've dealt with.
http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/showpos...53&postcount=11

A gall is the result of some foreign creature - a bug or a bacteria or fungus -- living in the tree's tissue. It makes a huge scar to protect itself. Usually the solution is simply to cut away the infected growth.

good luck

pootsie

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Dkozi

I'd suspect It's a nematode of some sort. At least from what I know of galls they are usually made by wasps on above ground portions of growth. Often they are the result of a bug larva growing inside the growth and causing tissues to swell. When the baby bug is ready to get to the next stage of life the make their way out of the gall and neither the tree or insect is any worse for the wear.

Nematodes I'm quite sure exclusively live and feed in and among the root zones of plants. Their are Benefitial nematodes that feed on the bad guys and then there are the bad guys that live in the roots themselves often to the detrement to the host plant. It would not suprise me if you have a nematode problem instead of a gall problem. My thoughts anyway. -dkozi

Dkozi

You know I just took another look at the pictures and I see that the growth is on the above ground tissues. I'll just sit back behind the screen and think while longer before I chime in again. -D

tb823bonsai

We have these gall things on a ficus also. They've been there for over 10 years on the same ficus and we just cut them off each year with the concave prunners and it doesn't seem to affect the tree at all.

The galls are growing on the trunk and they kind of look like deformed walnuts.