Michael Persiano wrote:
Kevin and Jim:

This is a great idea. While it is true that
practitioners often "worry excessively" about their
trees, some pests do pose a lethal and sometimes rapid
threat to our trees. I remain amazed at how quickly a
large number of Eastern Sawfly Caterpillars destroyed a
valuable Japanese black pine of mine over night.

Preventative maintenance has its place in the art of
bonsai, and we clearly need to differentiate harmful from
harmless pests. The gallery is an excellent vehicle to
support this awareness. However, there are times when the
use of chemicals is not only warranted but essential.

All of this is said in the context of preserving styled
bonsai of both personal and monetary value to the
practitioner.

Cordially,

Michael Persiano http://members.aol.com/iasnob

Don't thank me, it was Kevin's idea. I'm just promoting it.
;-)

And I couldn't agree more, Michael. Chemicals are often
warranted. It is which ones people use, and how they use
them that should be up for discussion.

Too many people select the nuclear option when conventional
warfare is just as effective -- and is safer for the user,
the user's family and pets, and the environment around them.

One of the basic tenets of pesticide application is to use
the least toxic alternative THAT WORKS. This is opposed to
using a pesticide that kills everything in sight and keeps
on doing it for some time. Thankfully, many of these kinds
of pesticides no longer are easily available to those of us
without a professional pesticide applicator's license.

Your place must be in the midst of or near a pine woods,
Michael. I can't think of another way you could have gotten
sawflies (unless the tree was a new arrival (or near a new
arrival) and the larvae came in the soil of one of them????)
You pretty much need a LOT of pines to support a dangerous
level of sawflies. Anyway, so sorry. (I've had the azalea
caterpillar defoliate several azalea overnight and it can be
a shock -- though for the azalea seldom fatal.) There's no
prevention for sawflies other than constant vigilance, and
spraying with pyrethrins, if found. These things are so
voracious that Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) the normal spray
for caterpillars may be too slow.

Unfortunately, there is no benefit at all to spraying "just
in case." Today's pesticides don't last long enough after
use to act as preventatives. The best preventative is in
plant and facility management.

1. If you have many trees of one (or similar species), such
as pines or azaleas, do NOT grow them all in the same area.
Bugs and ailments spread easily from tree to tree of
plants of the same kind.
2. Keep leaf litter, old soil, empty pots, etc. off your
tables. These all provide hiding places for various kinds
of critters -- nighttime feeders hide there during the day
and datyime feeders hide there at night.
3. Immediately isolate sick or infested trees. By
"infested" I don't mean a tree with a few aphids, but I
would mean one that is covered with them, or with scale or . . .
4. Try not to allow your tables to be perpetually damp.
This is one reason why off-and-on misting thoughout the day
is a very bad idea in most environments. Dampness
encourages fungus AND various critters such as slugs and snails.

Thanks for the chance to preach, Michael. ;-)

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

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