Unhealthy Bonsai

Sally

Can anyone help?
I have a bonsai tree (tree of a thousand stars) Serissa foetida. I've had the tree for about 3 years and up until recently it has been very healthy, good foliage and a few flowers.
I repotted it about 3 months ago and trimmed the roots, seemed to do well afterwards. However recently the leaves started to get small brown spots on them and dry up and fall off. I put this down to sunburn on the leaves - I moved the plant to a different window - things have gone from bad to worse - the brown spots are still there and more and more of the leaves are shriveling up and dropping off. Even the new growth is turning black.

I have also found some small white bug things in the soil - I haven't been able to identify what they are (they are in the soil of my other bonsai as well - so far these are healthy) I've treated the soil with a pesticide but with no luck - they are still there.

If anyone can help I would be very, very grateful

Sally

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Jose_Alberto

Well, I had troubles with gnats in my trees, almost the same case, they were like sucking the tree, well, what I did was drown them, because the insectiside was making things worse. I submerged the pot in water for a while (like 30 minutes) and they all drowned, I don't think this will kill the eggs, but if nobody can give you another idea, this will help for a while... (oh, one detail, this were silly gnats, or were another kind of animals, since they lived inside the soil ) Well, the only care you should have is to do it when it's possible, since I did it when the weather was rainy, and well I almost had a worst trouble, root rot , but everything went right, and well that's what I can say, if you can't kill them with insecticide, drown them...

Just what I did... not absolutely sure if will work with those animals. What if they bring their snorkel

well bye...

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Jose Alberto Franco
Guatemala
Central America
http://www.doschivos.com

Sally

Thanks Jose,

I'll certainly give it a try, nothing else seems to have worked - i have noticed that that don't seem to like water - they all crawl to the top of the soil when I water the bonsai.


Here's hoping it will work!

Any other suggestions would be gratefully received.

Thanks again.

Sally

Tiny-Plant

finaly an answer to my probems. I have to try it on my infected snow rose!

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Sally

I've tried drowning those little white pests - and they are still there - in one bonsai they seem to have reduced significantly (there are still some) but in another pot there still seems as if there are millions.

Question - how often can I drown them!! without killing or damaging the bonsai?

It has been about 4 days since I soaked the soil (covered the top of the container and left for 30-40 mins - the soil is still wet - i haven't needed to water yet.

Could I wash all the soil off the roots and repot in fresh soil or is this too drastic?


Any suggestions

Thanks
Sally

TreeBay

You don't want to risk overwatering, so wait until the soil starts to dry before soaking again.

In any case, it might be time to try Sevin insecticide (Carbaryl)
http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-Lawn_a...Bug_Killer_Dust
or Diazinon Granules
http://www.epinions.com/content_12311760516

I would keep the plant outside during the treatment. (The above are links to photos just so you can see what the commercial packaging looks like)

Most treatments require repeat applications so you may well have given up too soon with your first pesticide.

Regards,

Matt

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Ralph

I would just like to add this thought and link as well. Often pests such as these attack already unhealthy trees, so the bugs may be syptomatic of a larger problem.
An excellent organic and non-toxic pesticide for ground dwelling pests and larvae is diatomaceous earth or DE. Make sure you use the garden and nursery variety, and not the pool filter variety.
We had a bad infestation of fleas last year in the yard and on the dog. I treated the ground with DE last fall and winter, and put the dog on a DE dogfood, and this year no fleas, no scratching, no anything. I've put a small amount into my bonsai soil mixtures when I took it up this summer. Here is a couple of links on the product:
http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-Lawn_a...g_Insect_Killer


http://www.dirtdoctor.com/article.a...us&Param1=earth