Tree is looking rough.... advice please

[Danial son]

Hi guys,
I wrote before about the big leaves on my Chinese Elm. I planned on repotting my tree a few weeks ago but haven't got to it yet. I notice my tree has been losing leaves with quite a few dead /yellow leaves on it now.

The tree was a gift and came with organic soil which is extremely hard and has small roots coming out of the top. I used a screwdriver and was able to loosen the soil a week after I got the tree which really helped.

To get to the point: I was looking at the trunk, where it enters the soil, and noticed 4-5 small bugs that looked like fleas almost. Any ideas what these are and if they are hurting my tree? I see no bugs anywhere else on the trunk , branches or leaves.

Any help would be appreciated- Thanks

 

[barrosinc]

Pics?

 

[moke]

Springtails maybe root aphids?

 

[Danial son]

I will try to get some pics. With my naked eye it looked different then that but I can't be 100% sure. I might even have to get one of those zoom lenses for my iPhone.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[ConorDash]

Also comment on their behaviour.. only see them on soil, or trunk, or branches, or leaves?
Do they jump, walk slowly, fly?
Colour? How many legs (if you can tell that, due to size)?

The more info the better

 

[sorce]

Also comment on their behaviour.. only see them on soil, or trunk, or branches, or leaves?
Do they jump, walk slowly, fly?
Colour? How many legs (if you can tell that, due to size)?

Amen!

That's using your Noggin Dash!

Brilliant!

Sorce

 

[KingJades]

Pics?

What about pics of the tree? That might help, too.

 

[M. Frary]

they jump, walk slowly, fly?

Lurk,skulk,linger,or loiter?

 

[ConorDash]

Lurk,skulk,linger,or loiter?

Slither, slime, slink or salaciously sleuth?

 

[sorce]

Are we talking about bugs...gangbangers...or politicians?

More!

Sorce

 

[ConorDash]

Are we talking about bugs...gangbangers...or politicians?

More!

Sorce

I'm waiting for Mike

 

[Danial son]

Hey all- I apologize for the delay. I had some health issues and other issues going on.

I will take pics asap.


The bug I saw was always where the tree entered the soil and was not super fast- did not fly. The most I ever saw was two one time and it has always been one bug every other time. I saw bugs 3 time in total. I think they go underground. I think they may be bugs that eat roots. (just guessing)

I look every time I go near the tree and haven't seen any in a while but I guess they could be underground. I never saw any bugs on branches or leaves- always right where the tree enters the soil (as mentioned previously).

I will take pics of the tree for now and try to get a pic or better view of the bug if I see the little bastard again.

Thanks!

 

[coachspinks]

Hi guys,
I wrote before about the big leaves on my Chinese Elm. I planned on repotting my tree a few weeks ago but haven't got to it yet. I notice my tree has been losing leaves with quite a few dead /yellow leaves on it now.

The tree was a gift and came with organic soil which is extremely hard and has small roots coming out of the top. I used a screwdriver and was able to loosen the soil a week after I got the tree which really helped.

To get to the point: I was looking at the trunk, where it enters the soil, and noticed 4-5 small bugs that looked like fleas almost. Any ideas what these are and if they are hurting my tree? I see no bugs anywhere else on the trunk , branches or leaves.

Any help would be appreciated- Thanks

Where are you located?

 

[rockm]

Bugs aren't causing your leaf drop. From the looks of the soil, it's overwatering and bad soil...

 

[Danial son]

I apologize for my delay in response and pictures. With the recent hurricane and some other things I totally forgot about the thread.

Here is what I decided to do. Since I never could see that bug again and I felt the tree was slipping away I thought the best course of action would be to repot the tree.

Before the tree started dropping leaves like crazy I had intended on a non organic soil mixture but I decided against that for now.

I got a 9-10" round and 11" high plastic pot with drainage holes and a plastic tray to catch any drainage. I got some organic potting soil and mixed in Pumice, Akadama, and put a 1.5" layer of Lava rock on the bottom of the pot for drainage. It is about 60% potting soil, 20% Pumice, and 20% Akadama (roughly).

When I got the tree out of the original pot the roots looked fine to me but the root structure looked small for the size of the tree and the size of the original pot which is around 5" deep. I thought there would be root rot and tons of roots. The tree had hardly any larger roots at all and was mainly very small roots. I did trim the roots to promote new growth but didn't get carried away. Oh also- I didn't find any bugs or signs of bugs eating the roots.

I think rockm was correct - the soil didn't look very good and had a lot of large chunks of wood and debris in it. I did this on Sun. 9/17 but it seems like the tree is doing better in my opinion.

It has a lot of room for roots to grow now no doubt. I wish I could of taken a few pictures but my phone was toast- I have a new one now. My old one was dialing peoples numbers on its own and doing all sorts of crazy things. The Verizon man said it was probably a remanufactured phone they gave me as new....nice.

I did not trim the tree after repotting.*** My main question now is- when should I start back giving the tree fertilizer? (Different videos/info. says one to two weeks what do you guys think?)

 

[Danial son]

Where are you located?

FL - I have been keeping it inside due to factors beyond my control. This may be changing soon.

 

[Danial son]

Here are some pics but the sun made it difficult. 9/21/2017

 

[Danial son]

Here are a few pics from 7/8/2017 - before I reduced the amount of fertilizer.

 

[Danial son]

Here are a few at night-