AusBonsai

Hey all,

One thing after another with this tree since I bought it a couple of years ago

Anyone know what my problem is here ?
The tree seems nice and healthy but the trunk is getting more & more of these spots,
I'm guessing scale ?

Any advice would be fantastic!

Thanks Ross

Hard to tell from the photo if these spots are flat or are rounded. If the later then i would say you might have a case of black scale on your hands. Easy enough to deal with using white oil spray etc. I must admit i never get scale on my bonsai too much but my Gardenias at the front of the house get smashed every year. Scale really loves Gardenia.

can you pick it off with your fingernail ?

Spots are a little rounded, I can pick some of them off with my fingernail but not easily.
Could it be some sort of fungus ?

You might want to clarify which "spots" you are talking about too.
There are many different colours and sizes that I can see there.

The white ones should be the tree barking up and ageing.

I would assume your talking about the black ones and these certainly don't look like scale to me.
Scale can be taken off with a finger nail and upon close inspection you can see that scale is indeed living.

Cheers,

Hi there,

Looks like sooty mould to me. I don't think you can treat that with white oil. Wiki sooty mould and look for antibacterial or anti-fungicide solutions.

Cheers,

Brad Jackson.

Brad75 wrote:Hi there,

Looks like sooty mould to me. I don't think you can treat that with white oil. Wiki sooty mould and look for antibacterial or anti-fungicide solutions.

Cheers,

Brad Jackson.

I think your spot on with the sooty mould unfortunately
I couldn't find anything on the wiki page to help me,
Has anyone got experience with it ?

Could I loose the tree to this disease ??

It is not sooty mould. Sooty mould covers the plant tissues like a grey coating that can be wiped off with a damp cloth. It does not adhere like scale.

wimmy wrote:It is not sooty mould. Sooty mould covers the plant tissues like a grey coating that can be wiped off with a damp cloth. It does not adhere like scale.

Hi wimmy,

I have seen sooty mould begin as localised black spots before it spreads on my fig. You might be right though I don't know what else it could be. I'll take the advice on board and have a poke around my library for other types of infection.

Cheers,

Brad Jackson aka Brad75.

Mealy bug. It started exactly like this on my Maple until they killed it

Thanks for your replies
Ive hit it with some pest oil for now & I'll have a go with a toothbrush and see what I make of it.

Cheers

Hi there,

Probably the best solution mate. Can you post a wider view of your maple for us?

Cheers,

Brad.

Brad75 wrote:Hi there,

Probably the best solution mate. Can you post a wider view of your maple for us?

Cheers,

Brad.

Tried scrubbing with a toothbrush and picking off with my nail but can't get them off

Hi Stocaz,

It looks like hard scale (Hemiptera/ Family Diaspididae) according to my book "What Garden pest or disease is that?". Treatment is white oil at rate of 20ml per litre of water according to book. There is a Hortico brand spray in a white spray can that I have used successfully on my Japanese Maple after I bought it from Bunnings in Sept 2011. I think this brand uses white oil at a rate of 50ml per Litre.

Should do the trick.

Cheers,

Brad Jackson.

Brad75 wrote:Hi Stocaz,

It looks like hard scale (Hemiptera/ Family Diaspididae) according to my book "What Garden pest or disease is that?". Treatment is white oil at rate of 20ml per litre of water according to book. There is a Hortico brand spray in a white spray can that I have used successfully on my Japanese Maple after I bought it from Bunnings in Sept 2011. I think this brand uses white oil at a rate of 50ml per Litre.

Should do the trick.

Cheers,

Brad Jackson.

Thanks for your replies
I hit it with pest oil the other day which is very similar to white oil I think.
I'll keep my eye on it and hope for the best

Cheers Ross