AusBonsai

Hi all,

I bought an EE from Leigh Tafe back in 2011 which got worked on by Peter Adams in the same year. Recently it started losing its leaves and looked to be in poor health. I checked for grubs/insects and couldn't find anything above the surface, so I soaked it in a bath of seasol for about 12 hours and nothing changed. I moved it out of its full sun position, but it continued to decline. My last attempt was to re-pot it and check to see if something was happening under the soil. I found a large chunk of mud with a worm and a slug living inside the tree, so I cleaned it out and now I'm misting the foliage and have put it back in its shady spot. I figured if it was going to pass on, then it should do so in style, so I gave it a light wiring and took some photos.

Here's hoping that it pulls through.

Defoliate?

Why defoliate?
I'd be leaving the tree to get some strength back..
Defoliate right now will just force the tree to grow more leaves from energy reserves that may not be available.
I could be more than wrong though!

Looks to me like that tree has been very wet and rotten around its base.. I'm guessing those roots might not have been in good order causing the tree to lose vigour. How did the roots look? Nice, white and fibrous or black and floppy?

Adam

Have you sprayed the tree with anything to combat any potential pests or diseases? Considered providing trace elements in case of any deficiencies?

Yes the tree was sprayed to combat both pests and diseases. The roots were white but floppy, they did look like they had been attacked by something. I'm not defoliating as the tree will need what leaves remain to get some energy from the sun.
I'm misting the foliage with a very weak seasol solution and not applying as much water to the roots in case it was rot.

Sean M wrote:Yes the tree was sprayed to combat both pests and diseases. The roots were white but floppy, they did look like they had been attacked by something. I'm not defoliating as the tree will need what leaves remain to get some energy from the sun.
I'm misting the foliage with a very weak seasol solution and not applying as much water to the roots in case it was rot.

Long as it's in a free enough draining mix you don't need to worry about watering the soil haha




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