white spots on ash

Hello,

I have an ash (Fraxinus excelsior) stump which I am trying to bonsai. It is a long way from anything decent. I recently choped the top and noticed these white spots which come off when I use a soft brush. I have not seen any bugs about the tree and the foliage was fine but just wondered whether it was some disease or some bug that had hatched. Anyone know what these white spots are?

It is hard to translate bugs from the other side of the ocean, but it looks like some kind of scale. Use a dormant spray, which you can get from the local garden centre. Watch the tree in the spring to see if you need a follow-up.
Iris

bonsaisr wrote:It is hard to translate bugs from the other side of the ocean, but it looks like some kind of scale. Use a dormant spray, which you can get from the local garden centre. Watch the tree in the spring to see if you need a follow-up.
Iris

I waited for someone else to take the point on this and I agree with Iris, it actually looks a bit like Beech scale, because they look whitish. Beech scale also effects Ash and walnut. I would manually remove every last one, check your other trees to make sure no one migrated around and as Iris said a dormant oil, I use Neem at double strength.
-Jay

I have put more close up pictures. The point where the trunk has been chopped appears ro be discoloured. Could the beech scale have caused that too?

I'm not really sure its beech scale per-se but its probably a scale of some sort, I doubt its the source of the discoloration your seeing in the heart wood of the tree. Did you seal that trunk cut?
-Jay

drgonzo wrote: Did you seal that trunk cut?
-Jay

Not yet, I just chopped it today. I stopped to investigate when I saw the white spots and the discolouration.