Help to identify disease on moss

bonsaiasia

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Hi All,

I need help to identify if my moss is being attacked by mold or any types of fungal diseases (it looks greenish and some of them turn black).

I have attached 2 pics.

I water the tree - premna obtusifolia - twice a day (morning & night).

The only pesticide i use is organic neem oil mixed with water and a couple of drops of dish-washing soap.

I'm wondering if it is because of the dish-washing soap.

Any idea how to remove the greenish mold other than removing the affected moss?

Thanks very much.

Kind Regards,
Vin
 

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october

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Welcome bonsaiasia..Remove all the moss immediately before the disease might spread to the tree. Moss is usually only put on trees for exhibitions and then removed after. Moss can harbor pests and disease and sometimes keeps excess moisture.

Rob
 

bonsaiasia

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Hi october and Ryan,

Thanks very much for your prompt reply!

I am about to re-pot and change the soil of this tree so I was actually thinking of totally removing the moss from the tree.

The reason the moss was put on this tree was to retain the moisture from watering since the tree was a tropical and where I live (Singapore), the weather can reaches 33 degree celcius (91 degree farenheit). Then again, it can be very humid here (am guessing this contributes to the mold).

Obviously the soil looks quite waterlogged, that's the reason why I am changing the soil to a better draining soil. Hopefully no damage has been done to the root (the tree still looks healthy with new shoots coming out).

Kind Regards,
Vin
 

Redwood Ryan

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Ah I see. Very warm and humid. How about a picture of the whole tree? The trunk appears to be pretty big :cool:
 

bonsaiasia

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The soil is definitely waterlogged.

I see these little punks on the moss, definitely time to change the soil to better drainage soil (and I've got a nice pot from Sara Rayner!):

Fungus Gnat/ Scarid Fly are tiny flies that can be seen flying around trees that are kept indoors. The flies themselves are no more than an irritation, however their grubs feed on the root system of the bonsai. Fungus Gnats are drawn to overly wet soils, particularly if they contain moss. Though the Gnats are simple to kill with the use of insecticides or household fly sprays; it is also important to improve the condition and drainage of the soil as well as ensuring that the soil is not kept permanently wet.

Attached is the picture of my premna obtusifolia, taken 3 months back. The moss was still healthy at that time.

Premna Obtusifolia.jpg
 

jk_lewis

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That is typical of moss in the hot summer months where I live. The heat seems to "melt" the moss and it turns soft and mushy.

I simply remove it.
 

bonsaiasia

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The funny thing is they've been doing well for so long...only now it's starting to show problems.

I've removed half of the moss (do not want to entirely expose the root underneath the moss before the weekend when do I re-potting).

Thanks guys for the advice!
 

lordy

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Neem might smother the moss. I know I have to be careful when spraying it on my trees before overwintering to help smother insects and eggs in the bark. Evergreens dont like it.
 
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