Unhealthy trident, spider mites?

[Paulneill]

I recently bought this big old neglected trident maple. The tree just look dull and unhealthy. The guy i bought it from did mention something about having spider mite issues in the past.

After getting it home i have inspected it multiple times using the paper technique and visually inspecting it. I have found a couple of small spider webs and only one tiny spider. the webs keep returning after blasting them off with water. Im guessing its spider mites but cant seem to find any.

its sitting above 2 newly collected trees to make things worse, i hope the collected trees are not going to be next. I will start spraying the foliage with a heavy jet every other day from now on and separate my trees. can anyone recommend a good safe treatment to use on my trident and possibly my newly collected azalea.

[Paulneill]

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[TimS]

Got any close up photos of foliage?

Sounds more like a happy bunch of spiders living in it to me.

Spider mites will create webbing when the infestation is bad, but you are more likely to see yellow or brown speckling of foliage before you get to that stage.

Hard to see in the photos but the foliage seems healthy looking

[Matt S]

I agree with Tim, it doesn't sound like a spider mite infestation. If there's no obvious signs of damage on the leaves then maybe just a good feed, some seaweed tonic and plenty of sunshine might be all it needs. Nice nebari!

Matt.

[Paulneill]

Yea maybe not spider mites then. I air layered a branch on it and the leaves on that branch suddenly looked like shari.
I didn’t cut into the sap wood!

The tree isn’t happy and I can’t pin point the problem. It’s in akadama that seems to dry out in 2 or 3 days but it looked a bit broken down. I could easy squash The old akadama in the pot and it crumbles easy. I topped the pot up with fresh akadama and spagnum to protect surface roots and keep it wetter for longer in summer. I’m watering every other day. I let it dry out as much as possible.

Also it has fungus gnats. I’m didn’t think they would go near akadama. There was some old organic fert on the surface also. Maybe it has a root problem.

[KIRKY]

It it was mine with what you are advising, I would take it from that pot shake as much off the roots as possible and pot it into a larger black plastic pot with normal potting mix to recover then look at putting it into a bonsai pot in a couple of seasons once it has recovered. Even at this time of year it should recover with good after care.
Cheers
Kirky

[Paulneill]

Hey Kirby.

What the reason you say to do that. Potting mix is crap and stays wet for too long?

Here’s some photos of the affected leaves.


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[Paulneill]

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[Paulneill]

Hey Kirby.

What the reason you say to do that. Potting mix is crap and stays wet for too long and wouldn’t dry at the same rate as the akadama.

It’s definitely getting repotted next spring so I can see exactly soil it’s in.

Here’s some photos of the affected leaves.


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[Paulneill]

Hey Kirby.

What the reason you say to do that. Potting mix is crap and stays wet for too long and wouldn’t dry at the same rate as the akadama.

It’s definitely getting repotted next spring so I can see exactly what type or soil it’s in.

Here’s some photos of the affected leaves.


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[KIRKY]

Your saying that its not healthy in akadama and that your keeping it wet as it dries out too quick.
If its not happy and you think its a root problem the you need to change what you are doing and what it is growing in.
Thats my reasoning and what I would do. Also taking an unhealthy/unhappy tree out of a bonsai pot removes added stress.
Cheers
Kirky.

[shibui]

There is another possibility that no-one has explored yet.
I am assuming that @Paulneill is actually living at Karratha. Karratha is at 20 deg S - above the tropic of Capricorn. Trident maples are known to be more tolerant of climate but they are really temperate trees and, while they do grow, they do not tend do as well in tropical climates.
Maybe it is just that this trident maple does not like the location?

[KIRKY]

Good point Neil.
Cheers
Kirky

[Paulneill]

Thanks for the reply’s.

I see where you are coming from kirky but isn’t a bonsai pot the ideal container as long as it’s the correct size and isn’t drying out super fast?

Sorry for the confusion I’ve updated my location to Perth which was having very mild weather up until last week.

I will just have to carefully monitor it and hopefully it comes back healthy next spring after a good root prune and a the soil replaced, it’s not looking extremely bad just not as vibrant as it should be.

[Paulneill]

Thanks for the reply’s.

I see where you are coming from kirky but isn’t a bonsai pot the ideal container as long as it’s the correct size and isn’t drying out super fast?

Sorry for the confusion I’ve updated my location to Perth which was having very mild weather up until last week.

I will just have to carefully monitor it and hopefully it comes back healthy next spring after a good root prune and a the soil replaced, it’s not looking extremely bad just not as vibrant as it should be.