Help, dying chinese elm, probably spider mite

pat_pat_ani

Hi, i bought this elm about a month ago, about 5years old, live in germany, i keep it indoor, water it every 2day. Since a week ago the leaves keep falling, they are turning yellow, i noticed a spider net between the branch. After searsching through internet, i read somewhere that i should water the entire plant and "wrap" it with plastic bag to increase the humidity, it should kill the spider. I decided to give it a try, after i left it wrapped for one day, it turned out that the net has grown all over the ground, but not on the branch. I dont know wether its a good or bad sign.
Please help, i am really a newbie in bonsai. Thanks

Yeni

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TreeBay

You might check the Watering tips in the wiki faq. I think you'll have better luck if you grow your trees outdoors.

Regards,

Matt

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digamelo

Yeni, do the yellow leaves fall off the tree very easily? If so, I bet you are overwatering the tree. Follow Treebay's advice and refer to the watering tips section. Also, until you get a handle on the tree's watering needs, try tilting one side of the pot up about two inches to help with drainage. Hang in there and do not worry too much. Elms are usually very resilient and tend to bounce back quickly. Keep us posted.

John

pat_pat_ani

I am not sure if i really overwater it, but i will check it. And where do the spider net comes from? Now it spreads all over the ground and i found none of them anymore on the branch (after the wrap-method). And i found out that the leaves kept falling only from the upper branch. I want to submit a photo of it but it seems too big to attach it ini here. ^_^


Yeni

Bart Thomas(deceased)

Pat Pat:

First, It would be helpful if you added your location to your user profile so that those of us who wish to help can get an idea of what climate you are in. (Nearest large city is good enough.)

Have you tried holding a piece of white paper under a branch, then flicking the branch? The idea is to collect the debris that falls on the paper and watch it closely. If any of the specks moves (without being bumped), it is a spider mite. If not, the web may be that of a spider preying on aphids, scale, or whatever.

In any case, a good blast of water from the hose should wash away the vermin.

Beyond that, I cannot tell you about Chinese Elm. I haven't figured them out yet for my climate (which is similar to Bavaria).

pat_pat_ani

I live near Köln(cologne), the temperature now is about 15°C out side, but i keep my elm indoor, i am not sure if it is a spider mite or not, the fact is there were a lot of spider net on the branches (i have noticed it a week ago, but i thought it wouldnt do anything to my elm, but since then the leaves kept falling). After i wrapped it with the plastic bag for a day, it seems to me that the culprit emerged to the ground and spread its nest over there (although the soil is pretty moist, i thought spider mite hates moist). But the branches are clean now ^_^
I have sprayed water all over the leaves to clean it, i dont think i can use the paper-method to proof the spider mite. But thanks for the advice.

Yeni