Johnathan
Omono
Whenever I see a video or picture of collected BC, they have very very little roots, would it be possible to just kinda start over everything and do a really hard root prune? Prolly a question for @Mellow Mullet
OK @Mellow Mullet @Dav4 and whoever else that's still following. I went ahead and pulled it out of the can again. It appears I still have root Mealy bugs. Way less white spots but still a couple. Also saw tiny little white bugs that moved rather fast. Faster then I'd suspect root aphid to move. Also killed some of the roots it appears. No more happy white tip roots only a few emerging out of some of the dead roots. Looks like root rot-ish. Doubt you can overwater this thing so I would suspect that it was the Malathion that did the damage. So now I'm at a bit of a conundrum. I know I have a infestation but also know that the treatment is probably killing my roots too. Obviously I don't wanna leave those little basterds in there to just multiply multiply multiply and develop the original population but also nervous that I'll kill more roots and possibly the tree if I treat again.
Whenever I see a video or picture of collected BC, they have very very little roots, would it be possible to just kinda start over everything and do a really hard root prune? Prolly a question for @Mellow Mullet
Have you considered heat damage to the root system. I used to get yellowing foliage on my BC at the end of summer. The trees were in mostly sun all day. Covered the pots with a white towel when temperatures were set to be over 90. Helped a great deal...
I wouldn't do that... almost guaranteed to kill the tree. I think your tree needs to be treated with a systemic insecticide applied as a soil drench....So apparently root mealy bugs drink malathion as milk. Damn things are unstoppable. About a week ago I poured about half the bottle in there. I don't even think it slowed them down. Think I'm gonna roll the dice and go for broke. Figure before I just throw away the tree, I might as well try bare root repotting it, throw away all old soil,
new pot and rise tree. If it dies, it dies.
Yeah I've pretty much have come to terms with it. Honestly just starting to worry more and more about the rest of my trees getting infested (hopefully not too late). Everything I've read says chemicals don't really work including systemics. Believe me I was shocked that half a bottle of malathion didn't even faze them. I submerged the hole rootball in it for a couple of hours too. Do you had any experience killing them with a systemic? I do hope so! I hope you tell me everything I've read is dead wrong.I wouldn't do that... almost guaranteed to kill the tree. I think your tree needs to be treated with a systemic insecticide applied as a soil drench....
Nope, never had them. I'd still rather try something that might work rather then something almost destined to fail. Fwiw, malathion isn't a systemic and that's what I think you need.Yeah I've pretty much have come to terms with it. Honestly just starting to worry more and more about the rest of my trees getting infested (hopefully not too late). Everything I've read says chemicals don't really work including systemics. Believe me I was shocked that half a bottle of malathion didn't even faze them. I submerged the hole rootball in it for a couple of hours too. Do you had any experience killing them with a systemic? I do hope so! I hope you tell me everything I've read is dead wrong.
You're the man Leo! Thanks. Did some googling today and landed on alkaline/iron deficiency. Going to start with an Iron chelate first and then will go for magnesium thereafter. Trees look clean. Getting a lot of water.I would take a real close look for spider mites, or any of the dozen or so species of plant sucking arachnids. Look for webs, especially on the underside of leaves. If positive, treat for mites. I can't see the bastards with naked eye, but I recognize them by the damage they do. This is only a partial fit, I'm not convinced its mites, but it doesn't hurt to do a close inspection.
If negative for mites. Could your bed be staying too wet? Not possible with bald cypress. I guess I'd shoot for nutrient deficiency.
Iron supplement. Or Iron and Magnesium. If you have any commercial big box store iron fertilizer, a dose would be a good idea. Also for magnesium, a dose of Epsom Salts, available in the Rx part of your big box store, maybe $4 for a 2 pound bag of Epsom Salts, which is magnesium sulfate. I use roughly 1 teaspoon per gallon of Epsom salts. You can add Epsom salts to the fertilizer solution you make up with the iron supplement. But don't add epsom salts to a fertilizer that includes calcium. Some of the Dynagrow and the MSU formulas include calcium. In solution when a calcium salt, such as calcium nitrate comes in contact with a sulfate in solution, such as ammonium sulfate or magnesium sulfate, the calcium bonds to the sulfate to make gypsum, calcium sulfate. Gypsum is insoluble in water, with form a fine sludge at the bottom of your container and in your bonsai media. The sulfate and the calcium in gypsum are largely unavailable as plant nutrients. Its possible some mycorrhiza could, over time liberate the sulfur and the calcium as plant nutrients, but that is a slow process. The immediate effect of mixing magnesium sulfate with a calcium nitrate solution is that both the calcium and the sulfur become unavailable as plant nutrients.
So epsom salts, with iron supplement, either at the same time or in rapid succession. The response should be quick. If the color is not better in less than a week, something else is the problem.
You're the man Leo! Thanks. Did some googling today and landed on alkaline/iron deficiency. Going to start with an Iron chelate first and then will go for magnesium thereafter. Trees look clean. Getting a lot of water.
I noticed that I had put very pine bark/organic-ish mulch on top of the soil last winter for insulation - I removed that mulch from the healthier looking of the two in spring, but left it on top of the soil for the sickly looking one. I'm thinking maybe a connection there...
Hi Vance,Have you removed the tree from the pot and looked at the roots? Are they black, mushy and smell? If that's the case you have root rot meaning an emergency repot.