hello.
i'm rather new here, and new to all of this really. i got interested in bonsai late last summer, making this my first growing season. the help i'm looking for is regarding a boxwood i picked up in the spring. i cut it back quite a bit then, and it responded well, back budding all over. around june however, there was an infestation of insects, unfortunately i don't have a photo of them. i treated the tree with an insecticide and later with neem oil. the insects seemed to have been eradicated by july, but now the tree shows signs of stress. i've attached some photos to illustrate the symptoms.
nearly all new buds browned and died, and many leaves curled, while others look wrinkly. it's hard to see in the photos but there are grey/whitish spots like flakes, which can be wiped off with fingers easily -not sure if these aren't simply deposits from the neem oil. some leaves also have very small black spots, almost like a mark from a pen, only ever one on a leaf. also the trunk seems to have what i think i can identify as sooty mold.
i'd hope i've missed something really obvious, and that one of you may be able to offer a solution.
thanks in advance, and sorry for the lengthy post. -hopefully photos will be more succinct.
i'm rather new here, and new to all of this really. i got interested in bonsai late last summer, making this my first growing season. the help i'm looking for is regarding a boxwood i picked up in the spring. i cut it back quite a bit then, and it responded well, back budding all over. around june however, there was an infestation of insects, unfortunately i don't have a photo of them. i treated the tree with an insecticide and later with neem oil. the insects seemed to have been eradicated by july, but now the tree shows signs of stress. i've attached some photos to illustrate the symptoms.
nearly all new buds browned and died, and many leaves curled, while others look wrinkly. it's hard to see in the photos but there are grey/whitish spots like flakes, which can be wiped off with fingers easily -not sure if these aren't simply deposits from the neem oil. some leaves also have very small black spots, almost like a mark from a pen, only ever one on a leaf. also the trunk seems to have what i think i can identify as sooty mold.
i'd hope i've missed something really obvious, and that one of you may be able to offer a solution.
thanks in advance, and sorry for the lengthy post. -hopefully photos will be more succinct.
