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Old 28-01-2004, 10:10 AM
Luke Tulkas
 
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Default honeylocust seedlings dying


wrote in message
...
I've got some honeylocust seedlings that germinated a couple months

ago.
I'm not sure they'll make good bonsai, but I figured they'd give me
something to watch grow during winter. I collected some pine, spruce,

elm,
oak, and honeylocust seeds from a local park last fall. Of those,
honeylocusts were the only ones that didn't need a cold stratification
period.

They're about 8-12 inches tall. They were a nice green color until

just a
few days ago. The leaves are now yellow white with dark green dots.

There
also appears to be cobwebs around the leaves.


Spider mites. You must get rid of them. It may help if you take the
seedlings into the shower and wash them off. Thoroughly! From every
angle! Young honeylocust foliage is tender and the leaflets get stuck
together when wet. So, after showering, you should shake the remaining
water off, wait for the foliage to dry and then repeat the process.
Several times. Over several days.

If the attack is severe then the best thing might be to use an
insecticide.

Nothing drastic has changed
in their environment or in how often I've been watering

them...whenever the
soil is dry. They've occupied a place under some grow lights next to

a
catnip that is flourishing, as well as a few cacti.

Any ideas what I could have done wrong or how to resuscitate them?

It's not
a great loss, but I hate to see any tree die, and I'd at least like to

learn
something from this mistake. I was hoping to give them a head start

before
transferring them outside in the spring.


Eric