AusBonsai

dark1 wrote:G'day Stocaz. Good luck with the treatment. Looks like a very nice tree would be a shame to loose that branch. What are you using on your juniper to get rid of the scale? Cheers, Michael.

Thanks mate i just hit it with white oil should do the trick
Cheers Ross

Andrew Legg wrote:Ross,

The only thing I can think of doing is cutting back the vigorous parts of the tree hard, and foliar feeding very lightly but regularly the weak branches. If you are lucky they may recover, but the hard cut back will slow the tree down. Chance you take mate, but good luck all the same.

Cheers,

Andrew

Thanks Andrew, the tree was just repotted into the bigger pot last season so dont know if i really want to cut everything back hard
The branch thats gone isn't the end of the world i might just have to bend another branch into that section to fill the gap.
What do you do

Has the scale insect identified been treated? Two options really. Scrape the scale insect off affected branches with your fingernail. Then give it a spray with a systemic insecticide. I usually use something nasty like imidacloprid.

Ross, I guess if the branch is not critical, putting the tree at risk is not worth the hassle. I was wondering what would happen if one were to wrap the branch in so clear plastic with a bit of sphagnum moss soaked in seasol mix in it to keep humidity up high. Essentially treat just the branch like a cutting as juniper are efficient at taking in water through their foliage. No idea how it would work, but the idea of supplementing it's turgidity to make up for damaged tissue in the branch through the foliage kinda makes sense.

Cheers,

Andrew

Andrew Legg wrote:Ross, I guess if the branch is not critical, putting the tree at risk is not worth the hassle. I was wondering what would happen if one were to wrap the branch in so clear plastic with a bit of sphagnum moss soaked in seasol mix in it to keep humidity up high. Essentially treat just the branch like a cutting as juniper are efficient at taking in water through their foliage. No idea how it would work, but the idea of supplementing it's turgidity to make up for damaged tissue in the branch through the foliage kinda makes sense.

Cheers,

Andrew

Not a bad idea at all !!
May as well give it a go, ill repost once i know the result.

Cheers Ross

--natural jin?

I recently had a similar problem and discovered it was due to small snails eating the foliage.

That branch is definitely a goner
I hit the tree with white oil about a week ago but its still got scale everywhere.....
Should i hit it again or is white oil the wrong treatment for black scale ?

I have never had any success with white oil, but use Confidor on them instead.

Ken

kcpoole wrote:I have never had any success with white oil, but use Confidor on them instead.

Ken

Thanks

Over the last month I've used confidor 3 times and there is still a little scale here and there,
Am i doing something wrong here ???!!

I also had a scale problem on my juniper and Confidor did not solve the issue so I spoke to one of the local bonsai nurseries and they said they had also had the issue. I was told to try lime sulfur diluted 10ml to a litre of water and drench the foliage I did this and it has solved the issue. I sprayed in the evening and protected the juniper from the sun for 48 hours. Mia

Ross, when scale dies, the protective coverings will stay on the plant. They don't fall off . . . . well, not in my experience anyway, but if you scratch them off you can quickly tell the difference. Just be sure you are not trying to kill stuff that's already dead!

Also check for ants in your pot. Ants farm scale and aphids, providing good conditions for them to multiply in the soil and then carry them up onto the plant. This provides them with a source of sugar in the form of honeydew secreted by sap sucking insects. You can remove the pest from the plant and the ants will just bring more up. If there are ants you need to get rid of them too.

Andrew Legg wrote:Ross, when scale dies, the protective coverings will stay on the plant. They don't fall off . . . . well, not in my experience anyway, but if you scratch them off you can quickly tell the difference. Just be sure you are not trying to kill stuff that's already dead!

You could be right, i may be just paranoid as another branch (a big one) seems like its going down the same path.
Could it be something else possibly ?