Scale On Juniper Bonsai

Scale are commonly found on junipers too so be on the look out.

Scale on juniper bonsai. Aphids spider mites mealy bugs vine weevils scale insects caterpillars ants. Scale are insects that most often resemble a small oval scale on your bonsai tree. Follow along as i transform this bonsai. If one does not look closely they may mistake it for a part of the bark.

The two most popular juniper species for bonsai of the group with scale like foliage are the chinese juniper and the japanese shimpaku which is a variety of the chinese juniper which was originally found in the japanese mountains. Oyster shell is probably the worst. Its been a quick and amazing journey. The first is conifer mite which is very similar to red spider mite.

It takes a lot ot get through the shell which is where they lay their eggs. The female juniper scale shell is a circular flat armored scale that attacks several species including junipers cypress and eastern red cedar. There are two main pest problems on scale juniper. In a very predictable turn of events my best tree has developed a scale insect issue that may have killed it if i had not looked closely at the needles for the rest of the season.

Try to identify the insects either by photographing them and asking for advice at on online bonsai forum or by comparing the insects you see with the pictures below. It has the same symptoms of patchy yellowing and fine cobwebs. This works well for minor infestations nastier infestations and tricky to treat scale like the pine needle scale require a stronger plan of attack more on that friday. Both have scale like foliage with a color ranging from yellowish green to bluish green or grayish green.

Basically when the new scale hatches the babies walk around and pick a place to settle down. This can be cured with most insecticides such as provado systemic insecticide made by bio. There are different kinds of scale white juniper and oyster shell scale to name a couple. The male shell is smaller and narrower.

The waxy covering of the female is dirty white with a yellow center resembling a tiny fried egg. The amazing transformation of this rocky mountain juniper progression. These insects should not be taken lightly as they feed off your bonsai trees fluids like vampires and can cause leaf drop branch die back and eventually in severe cases death of the tree.