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Buttonwood Question

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Post  bonsaisr Tue May 29, 2012 2:38 am

After being sprayed with systemic insecticide, the buttonwood is showing signs of recovery.
Iris
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Post  bonsaisr Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:31 pm

Here is the final answer. I found out that the culprit was specifically chilli (sic) thrips, a devastating pest in Florida. The literature suggested switching from one insecticide to another to prevent immunity buildup, so I followed up with a few treatments with spinosad. Of course the tree has been trimmed a few times, & the tools sterilized.

Buttonwood Question - Page 2 Img_0310

This is a recent photo. The foliage is a bit sparse, because it was recently trimmed. The deadwood has been carved but not yet treated.
Iris
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Post  bonsaisr Sat Aug 18, 2012 4:18 pm

Do you know what a schmendrick is?
A schlimazl is someone who can't grow Fukien tea in Florida.
A schlemiel is someone who tries to grow Fukien tea in Central NY without a greenhouse.
A schmendrick is someone who gave up trying to grow Fukien tea, etc.; now she's trying buttonwood.
Actually I've been trying to grow buttonwoods for 20 years. I've learned a few things.
1. Don't put a buttonwood on your front porch where it can get stolen.
2. Don't try to grow a buttonwood taller than a foot (30 cm) under lights. The bottom part doesn't get enough light & they can't make up for it over the summer.
3. The rule about repotting only in the summer is VERY STRICT. If you grow under lights, many tropicals, such as Ficus, can tolerate potting in the winter, but not buttonwood.
4. DO NOT prune & style a buttonwood immediately before repotting. It may work in Florida, not here.
5. Watch out for potting shock.

I recently witnessed something I have never heard reported from Florida. At the moment I have two buttonwoods. I repotted them in July. Just as I read in the literature, they had some very long stringy roots wound around the pot. You can't trim these initially, because the feeder roots are at the end. I bent them back & forth & shoved them in the pot the best I could. I used my regular potting mix (aquarium gravel, diatomite granules [similar to Turface], ground bark, 10% charcoal) with some extra bark. I put plastic bags over them & put them on a windowsill to recover.
They wilted, especially the one I've been reporting about. The other one, smaller, recovered before long. It started growing new leaves while the older ones were still wilted.
This buttonwood was a disaster. The entire canopy turned to rags and hung there. I was sure it was dead. But I noticed that only two or three leaves fell off. The foliage was completely wilted, but did not shrivel or turn brown. I put both of the trees in water basins and put them out on the shade stand (early morning sun only). This tree lingered at death's door for about three weeks. I said a misheberach (prayer for the sick). Then one day a single leaf at the top started to straighten up. The next day a couple more. Cue strains of Disney's "Night on Bald Mountain." It took about a week, but the dead stirred, rose up from the grave, & came to life as if nothing had happened.
Iris
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Post  Treedwarfer Sat Aug 18, 2012 4:58 pm


Shame on you Iris, "Night on Bald Mountain" was written by Modest Mussorgsky in the late nineteenth century. He didn't grow buttonwoods, though. Wink

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Post  bonsaisr Sun Aug 19, 2012 2:20 am

After I wrote it, I KNEW someone would say that (it's Modeste Moussorgsky). Of course I know who wrote Night on Bald Mountain, for the past 60 or so years. But the images I kept seeing while the tree recovered were from Fantasia.
Did you ever see the wonderful slide program somebody made to go with Pictures at an Exhibition?
Iris
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Post  Treedwarfer Sun Aug 19, 2012 3:39 am

> (it's Modeste Moussorgsky) <

Touché.

I do see the connection with broomsticks sprouting leaves, though!

No, I haven't seen that slide program, unfortunately. But way back in the, heavens, seventies, A Japanese musician called Isao Tomita recorded and entirely synthesized version of Pictures from an Exhibition with his own unique "orchestration". Quite revolutionary at the time.

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Post  bonsaisr Fri Sep 21, 2012 10:13 pm

I need a new definition. A schlimazl is someone who can't grow Fukien tea in Florida. A schlemiel is someone who tries to grow Fukien tea in Central NY. A schmendrick is someone who tried to grow Fukien tea in Central NY, then she tried buttonwoods. Sad
But what do you call someone in Central NY with three dead pine trees and two healthy buttonwoods? scratch
Of course! I should have known immediately, Moishe Kapoyer (Moses Upside-Down). A very old comic strip character who did everything backwards. lol!
Iris


Last edited by bonsaisr on Fri Sep 21, 2012 10:34 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Add another comment.)
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Post  BigDave Sat Sep 22, 2012 6:22 pm

bonsaisr wrote:
But what do you call someone in Central NY with three dead pine trees and two healthy buttonwoods

SIRI
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Post  bonsaisr Sat Sep 22, 2012 8:59 pm

Sorry, the only SIRI I know of is an app on iPhone. I don't see the connection. My buttonwoods and figs are in the plant room under lights now, as our nights are getting chilly.
Iris
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Post  nickalpin Thu Jan 03, 2013 5:27 pm

bonsaisr wrote:Here is the final answer. I found out that the culprit was specifically chilli (sic) thrips, a devastating pest in Florida. The literature suggested switching from one insecticide to another to prevent immunity buildup, so I followed up with a few treatments with spinosad. Of course the tree has been trimmed a few times, & the tools sterilized.

Great move, spinosad is amazing stuff and works on trees that don't like oils (buttonwood, fukien, etc.) Works great on fruits and veggies as well.

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Post  bonsaisr Thu Jan 03, 2013 9:23 pm

Unfortunately, spinosad does not work on Hemiptera, which includes the scales and mealy bugs, the most common pests of pot plants.
The buttonwoods continue to appear healthy. I bought another dwarf mugo pine.
Iris
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Post  BigDave Thu Jan 03, 2013 9:42 pm

bonsaisr wrote:Sorry, the only SIRI I know of is an app on iPhone. I don't see the connection.
Iris

sorry a little too cryptic...you said...

But what do you call someone in Central NY with three dead pine trees and two healthy buttonwoods? Buttonwood Question - Page 2 Icon_scratch
Of
course! I should have known immediately, Moishe Kapoyer (Moses
Upside-Down). A very old comic strip character who did everything
backwards. Buttonwood Question - Page 2 Lol
Iris

What do you call her... SIRI... IRIS backwards

Idea
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Post  bonsaisr Fri Jan 04, 2013 2:40 am

EEWW! Rolling Eyes
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