So my car grows these maples...

[Avanthalas]

I am new to this forum and calling myself new to bonsai would be an overstatement. I have been growing these tiny maples for a few years (some are from this year)... the giant maple outside drops them on my car and I am a hermit, so when they sprout (on my car) I take them and plant them in my second floor 1920s apartment and try to have a miniature forest. I have no idea what I'm doing. They are in a window that gets way too much sun at sunset (this the super fancy pizza box shade) and I have them in succulent mix because it seems like they don't like to sit in water? I water them when it's dry and that has been working so far? I think they have scales, though, and I don't know how to get rid of them. I have been carefully hand cleaning every leaf and the trunks (stems? I am a dummy) with rubbing alcohol on soft cotton and this is maintaining them, but I would prefer to just not have scales if there's a way to do that.

Sorry for my ignorance... my only consolation is that these trees would not be allowed to grow on my car anyway, but I would still like them to survive and hang out with me.

 

[pandacular]

These trees look pretty good for doing this all on your own!

Do you ever see any bugs on them? If not, it is most likely a fungal issue. Others will be more equipped to diagnose it specifically than that,

 

[Avanthalas]

These trees look pretty good for doing this all on your own!

Do you ever see any bugs on them? If not, it is most likely a fungal issue. Others will be more equipped to diagnose it specifically than that,

I have seen the tiny round bugs in one of those photos... they sit on the leaves like little armored mounds. There is also sticky residue from them.

Also, thanks! It has not been without loss... for a few years now my apartment has been like a horror movie summer camp for baby maple trees (they show up thinking they're going to have fun and mysteriously die one by one).

 

[Avanthalas]

I have seen the tiny round bugs in one of those photos... they sit on the leaves like little armored mounds. There is also sticky residue from them.

Also, thanks! It has not been without loss... for a few years now my apartment has been like a horror movie summer camp for baby maple trees (they show up thinking they're going to have fun and mysteriously die one by one).

Here are the bugs closer up and the honeydew.

 

[pandacular]

In that case, I would give them a treatment with either/both a solution of neem oil or fungicidal soap--this can be found in any garden or big box store, but you can make your own with stuff you may already have and a spray bottle; plenty of recipes online.

I would also encourage you to update your profile here with location and USDA hardiness zone if you plan to stick around a while.

 

[Avanthalas]

In that case, I would give them a treatment with either/both a solution of neem oil or fungicidal soap--this can be found in any garden or big box store, but you can make your own with stuff you may already have and a spray bottle; plenty of recipes online.

I would also encourage you to update your profile here with location and USDA hardiness zone if you plan to stick around a while.

Thanks! I think I edited my profile... I'm in Portland, Oregon and maybe that's 8b? I am not super competent at the moment (tooth extraction turned into jaw infection = dumb).

 

[pandacular]

8b sounds right for Portland. Not sure if it's like us up north in Seattle where different parts of the city are different, but probably less so due to the difference in geography.

I would also recommend giving them a once over with a fungicide, just for general care and health, but I know very little about identifying diseases. Definitely need to deal with those bugs though!

 

[RJG2]

It has not been without loss... for a few years now my apartment has been like a horror movie summer camp for baby maple trees

I'm guessing this is because they are kept inside all year? Maples need a winter dormancy and should really be outside year round.

 

[Avanthalas]

My kitchen opens onto a full size catio (deck enclosed in hardware cloth) that has a curtain instead of a door (the kitchen is not heated and we keep it closed off from the rest of
the apartment) so they do get seasonal temperature changes but I don't have access to any ground floor areas, unfortunately. Most of them have been around for two or three years... I think a lot of the losses were when I was watering them too much? Since they can't be trees where they landed it seems okay to try even though it's not great.

To thoroughly get rid of the bugs even in the small fiddly bits would it be ridiculous to hold them upside down in water for a few minutes (I could maybe put a cover over the soil) and then shake them off? Then I could treat them after? Or should I just treat them?

 

[Avanthalas]

I'm guessing this is because they are kept inside all year? Maples need a winter dormancy and should really be outside year round.

To clarify more on my answer about the kitchen getting seasonal changes, they do go dormant in winter... the leaves turn and fall off and they turn into sticks and then in spring I find out if they're still trees.

 

[pandacular]

To thoroughly get rid of the bugs even in the small fiddly bits would it be ridiculous to hold them upside down in water for a few minutes (I could maybe put a cover over the soil) and then shake them off? Then I could treat them after? Or should I just treat them?

I've heard of people doing this for roots with bug issues. Personally, I would avoid something potential traumatic like that until I've tried at least insecticidal soap.

 

[Avanthalas]

I've heard of people doing this for roots with bug issues. Personally, I would avoid something potential traumatic like that until I've tried at least insecticidal soap.

I will hold off, then. I did just mean the trees and not the soil, though (only because you mentioned roots)... was trying to figure out a way to get into the tiny leafy areas.

 

[caffeinated]

Most horticultural oils or insecticidal soaps should take care of scale, though the more you can take off first the more effective the treatment will be. Might need to do two or three rounds.

 

[Srt8madness]

Pick the scales off by hand....very difficult to treat with insecticide once scaled up.

Kinda want to see them when growing on the car

 

[Avanthalas]

Pick the scales off by hand....very difficult to treat with insecticide once scaled up.

Kinda want to see them when growing on the car

 

[Avanthalas]

This is the tree they come from (I only have street parking and sometimes do not go anywhere for a very long time)... there are two of these giant maples in front of my duplex. This was the time I went outside to feed my three crows and was very surprised by crow migration time.

 

[pandacular]

Crow friends are good to have

 

[GGB]

sometimes do not go anywhere for a very long time

The romantic part of my brain tells me I want to be you. A hermit with a maple forest? dope. I have nothing helpful to say unfortunately, I've never had scale on any species of maple. Definitely don't let any of the dead leaves lay around in the winter, that's all I got

 

[pandacular]

In the half year or so that I've been heavily into this hobby, I have been much MUCH more content to stay at home. Working on trees, or just doing nothing while hanging out with trees.

 

[pandacular]

I found some tips on treating scale in another thread. Try to brush them off with a q tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and then treat them with an insecticide/insecticidal soap. I'm a fan of organic gardening, but chemical insecticides do tend to be strong (for better or worse, as they can seep into the environment). Obviously, don't use those inside though