Return to the Trees & Shrubs Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
sick lillipilli tree
| | |
Posted by Calthrop balaklava SA (My Page) on Fri, Feb 20, 04 at 17:50
It doesn't look sick from a distance, but up close the branches and leaves have a black sooty covering mainly along the twigs in the canopy.
It is due for a trim up,thanks to the mohawk it sports as part of a tree lopping project by the electricity people.
So I figure while I am up there in the canopy if it needs a squirt of something I can do that too.
I just need a knowledgeable person to tell me what it is and why it's there.Thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: sick lillipilli tree
| | |
Black sooty mould often signifies scale. Which means ants spreading the things. Scale can be from the palest green young to hard to shift brown or black or white ones that look like coral.
Depending on your inclinations for chemicals, there are a number of things you can use to kill immature scale. Mature ones are a lot harder to budge.
Always take care, use the manufacturer's guidelines, wear protection and don;t spray on a hot or windy day. Phew.
Scale on these generally does not generally kill them just disfugures.
So please treat the ants. A good ant-bait round the base of the tree (once again depending on your tendencies to chemical or non) I use an ant and roach product that works very quickly. Also smear a light collar of petroleum jelly in a ring round the trunk of the tree, that will stop ants getting up again . With the lopping you should get lots of good growth, they respond pretty well to hard pruning, and should look great again soon. |
|
|
|
|
