AusBonsai

Hi guys. I have a trident maple not doing so well this spring.
Usually by now it has a lot more leaves and looks much healthier. I've noticed it has a lot of fluffy white bugs on it.
It's never had them before and none of my other plants have them. What sort of problems can they cause my tree.
The tree is suffering from deformed, dicoloured and burnt leaves aswell a slow growth which has never happened before now. My other maples are doing great and look a lot better than this particular tree and they have no signs of the bugs at all which has led me to think they might have something to do with the tree not doing so well. Can anybody shed some light on the subject for me as to whether the pests can cause these problems or something completely different. Please help

Daniel

Post a picture mate and we may be able to help.

I'll post a photo tomorrow. Was too dark to take a decent photo when I put the post up. Thanks for the reply.

Hi Daniel,
Other growers in Sydney area are reporting something similar on their maples.
See if this looks like yours - viewtopic.php?f=19&t=23003

This is the first time this tree has done anything like this which has me worried.

Looks like root rot to me. There are only a couple of things which cause the leaves to do this. Too much water leading to root tip death (most likely). too much feed leading to rot tip death, or not enough water leading to root tip death.
The bugs are not causing the browning on the leaf.

treeman wrote:Looks like root rot to me. There are only a couple of things which cause the leaves to do this. Too much water leading to root tip death (most likely). too much feed leading to rot tip death, or not enough water leading to root tip death.
The bugs are not causing the browning on the leaf.

Total agreement.
This is burning or death from the inside out.
All of the above combined and centered at the very heart of the tree.
'the roots'
Slip it out and see..."Smell the root ball".
The stink will be easy to detect and you will 'never forget it'.
The leaf tips are drawing back into themselves and I'm thinking the tree is trying to survive by dragging it's own sustenance from itself as the root tips are in crisis.
Although not an Azalea but I find with them when the '#$%^ hits the fan a re pot in fresh soil with a light water and offending leaves only removed gets the balance back on track.

My view only.
Steve.
Steve

Thanks Mike. I kinda thought it was a water/feed problem. Only reason I thought the bugs might be the cause is because the tree has never done this before and this is the first time it's had a pest problem and I've had it quite some years. Havnt changed how I water or feed. This spring I've fed once with power feed and twice with seasol. Have you got any tips on how to nut out exactly where I'm going wrong this year. Strange thing is my other maples are perfect and they all get watered and fed at the same time.

Daniel

It is likely that Mike I correct about the source of the browned edges on the leaves but those sucking bugs are also not doing the tree any good. I think you need to look for solutions to 2 problems at the same time.
I have had distorted and cupped leaves like that a couple of times and something similar has been discussed on this forum. Some thought it could be tiny mites sucking the new leaf buds before they open, others thought it was a fungal infection and treated with fungicides. In my trees, only the early spring leaves were affected and the later ones turned out normal.

So.... I think you have several things to do with your tree:
1. kill those bugs which are sucking the sap out of your tree. I'd try a systemic insecticide for that.
2. check to see how healthy or otherwise the roots are. If there are rotting roots a fungicide may help control it but you might need to adjust your watering/feeding regime to prevent further occurrence.
3. Monitor the leaves and hope the newer ones turn out more normal

Thanks guys. I will have a look at the roots today and see if the root ball smells. I'll let you know how I go. Thanks again.
Daniel