AusBonsai

Hi,

I have a couple of trees that just wont gain a nice green colour. They are in the same mix as my other pines and get fed the same yet wont turn green instead staying a slightly yellow green instead. Today i was digging around the roots to see if i could find a problem and i found dead roots and these little clear worms in the soil. I havent seen them before and have no idea what they are. Are they bad worms? How do i get rid of them?
The wire shown for scale is 1mm although it is a little thinner than 1mm. That should give you an idea of how small these worms are.

Anyone have any ideas?

Joe

Hi Jow, in my unqualified opinion, difficult to tell if these worms are the cause of your problem. If you are saying that you only found worms in only "one" of the unhealthy looking bonsai, then I would say that the evidence is not really conclusive. I would be looking for other patterns. Maybe the unhealthy ones are not getting the same amount of sun as the healthy ones or are in a colder position? I have to admit though, the worm in your photo does'nt look like your run of the mill earthworm.
John

They are in both trees. I'm thinking killing them would be the better safe than sorry option.

I've never had to kill soil pests. Ideas?

G'day Jow . Baby compost (earth)worms tend to look white or translucent .
Craig

Get a good hand lens and have a look up close to see if they have an obvious darker head at one end - like a small black speck - if so they could be Fungus Gnat larvae which eat roots and pupate to become small fly like critters.
Annelid worms (like compost heap worms) will not have and obvious dark 'head', are regularly segmented. As juveniles they do not have the reproductive sheath present in the adults so could be very similar looking.

Ash

Thanks Ash, I'll have a look after lunch. If they are gnats, how do I kill them?

I would have thought they would be way too big for fungus gnat larvae. If they are however, the easiest thing would be to let the soil dry out enough to kill the larvae but obviously not the tree, as they (together with the parents thrive in moist soil).

Jow you would know if you had fungus gnat adults because the adults look like little flies hopping about on top of the soil.Have you been keeping the affected trees indoors?

Jow,
Looks like baby earth worm to me. I see plenty of them in my bonsai soil. No problem. In fact the worm castings are a very rich source of nutrients for the tree. I think your problem is due to some trace elements deficiency ( possibly iron) which can be easily corrected by using fertilizer that comes with trace elements like Osmocote Plus. Hope this helps. Anyway they are my personal experiences.

Cheers,

CJ

Jow wrote:I'm thinking killing them would be the better safe than sorry option.

I've never had to kill soil pests. Ideas?

Cover up completely, and use Amgrow rogor 100 systemic insecticide.

You should be able to get it at Big W or Bunnings etc. Just follow the directions on the pack, and spray tree and soil.

Hi Jow, this is no help but anyway...
A while back I stupidly grabbed a half full opened bag of potting mix that a neighbour left outside and potted a couple of seedlings in it as I was low on soil at the time.
The seedlings struggled and I kept finding worm type critters in the soil. They would leave a thin slippery trail across the soil surface. They were silvery and translucent and would dive under the soil when I tried to get a closer look (they were of a similar size but looked slightly different to yours).
I think the plants died in the end? Can't quite remember.
Best of luck finding out what they are and if they are harmful or not!
Cheers, Dario.

Hi Jow,
I found a batch of similar worms recently. They were on a couple of Figs that had a LOT of D.L on them ,they were a bit shaded and very wet after a lot of rain. I cleaned up the D.L and moved to a warmer spot. Have not seen them since , although they did not afect the plants. Good Luck with yours. Regards John.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I think i will cover a few bases with these trees. I might drench the soil, give a dose or two of trace elements and see how things work out.

Joe

Hi Jow,

I had something very similar in one of my Trident Maples. It wasn't growing well at all when all the rest were powering along. I gave all my plants a routine soak in a seasol soln (so the liquid was level with the soil level) and these tiny white worms came to the surface and started climbing up the tree and onto the leaves (I think most likely to get out of the saturated soil). Anyway I left it soaking for a day and the worms dried up and died. Afterwards the tree started to grow well and was very healthy, no signs of whatever had been plaguing it before. So I'm pretty sure the worms may have been the culprit. I have looked them up and they may be "pot worms" or "white worms" but I can't be 100% sure.

The ones in my tree were around 1cm long but thin and clear/white. (If they are baby earthworms or composting worms there should also be many larger ones in the pot as well.) So perhaps soaking in seasol could be an option to try as well.

Cheers, Chipper5

I also have these little worms... Might answer a few questions I had been asking of my trees.

There are tons of material on worm castings on the internet. Here is one of them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermicompost

CJ