I'm getting desperate !!!


Calm down. You don't need to go into chemical warfare mode.
Here is a 10-point disease and insect-control program:

1. Info you get here or from anyone else who has not seen your
trees and the critters suspected of being responsible for
whatever damage may be occurring can NOT be considered expert
advice. We MAY be able to guess what the problem is, but we're
just as likely to be wrong.

2. Every time you see an insect -- or even several insects --
there's no need to go into "repent mode." The end of the world
is NOT nigh. Otherwise strong and healthy trees are amazingly
resilient. If they're not healthy in the first place, all the
pesticide in the world will NOT help.

3. Before you use a pesticide, READ THE LABEL. It will tell you
what insects it is approved to handle and which plants it is
approved to be applied to (or should not be applied to).

4. After you have read the label FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE
LETTER. More pesticide is not better. In fact, it is
dangerous -- to you, to you family, to your pets, and to your
trees (and to "good" insects that may be trying to help you for
free).

5. ALWAYS try the least toxic means of control first. For some
insects (scale, true bugs, etc.) hand picking is best. For
others (aphids, spider mites, etc.) a hard spray of water will
do. Yet others (whitefly, etc.) yellow sticky traps are best.
Aphids, whitefly, lacebugs, young scale all can be controlled
with insecticidal soap. Caterpillars can be controlled by the
bacteria Bacillus thuriengensis (I may not have spelled that
correctly, but it's universally called "BT"), either as a liquid
or a powder. A pyrethrin-based spray will control almost all of
these and has NO damaging residual (but apply ONLY in the evening
to protect pollinators -- bees and butterflies -- and NOT near
fishponds). Neem can be nasty. Many of the other gardening
pesticides are overkill on bonsai and dangerous for some time
after application.

6. Fungicides, generally, are ineffective if the fungus already
exists -- notwithstanding the advice given here and in bonsai
books. There is some benefit to applying a fungicide shortly
before the normal period of growth for that fungicide. HOWEVER,
most fungicides available to an unlicensed applicator aren't
particularly effective -- period.

7. Keeping your plants outside, in a location where they have
good ventilation, and on growing benches that are free of dead
leaves, old soil, and excess moisture will be better for your
trees than any amount of chemical control. Cleanliness IS next
to godliness in the world of bonsai.

8. Buy a good Insect and plant disease ID book. The Ortho Home
Gardener's Problem Solver is excellent -- as long as you can
bring yourself to ignore most of their chemical warfare
recommendations -- mostly Ortho products. Check the U.S. Forest
Service or your state forestry agency. Either will most likely
have bug ID materials for forest trees. Also check your
Cooperative Extension Office. They can ID bugs and diseases,
make control recommendations, and possibly supply you with
diagnostic tools.

9. Grow disease-resistant varieties.

10. ERADICATION IS NOT POSSIBLE. Control is. Again, a few bugs
are no problem.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - This economy
is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment. - Gaylord
Nelson, 1995

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