Did you ever figure this out? I'm new to this too and just realized today I have the same, little white bugs. :(

Hi - I don't know if that tree can be saved, but I do wonder if it hasn't been watered too often - yellow leaves are usually a sign of that. It's always best to learn a tree's water needs not from a meter or by a schedule, but by getting to know the tree itself and seeing how it responds to watering, how much, how often, in what season, how heavy the pot is at times directly after watering and then later on, etc. You do live in a warm place, and 'dormancy' there would be relative compared to e.g. what iut would mean in the NE. Water isn't always the answer to overheating, but a cooler, or at least partly shaded location might be. I wonder also if it may have had too much sun in a window there - I don't know and can't say of course, but it's another thing to consider. And not knowing your soil mix is another. Sometimes it's best to just let a tree relax (along with yourself :-) a bit rather than treating it like a rigid mechanical thing... let the tree tell you who it is and hearing what it wants. I know how that sounds, but they are liviung things after all but haven't necessarily read the rule books! Good luck and don't be discouraged from trying again - we all lose trees along the way and sometimes it's not about 'us' at all. This post was edited by moochinka on Tue, Mar 18, 14 at 8:46

Bonita: I see your question was from January but had a couple of thoughts even if they are a bit late. Or did you plant something already? First we have ordered TONS of plants and trees from Forest Farm (link below) and you just cannot go wrong. Everything always arrives in a very timely fashion and well packaged. I have ordered a couple of plants from Gurneys and it has always been a nightmare. I'll never do it again. If you want lush plants that are the size described order from Forest Farm. They also have an unbelievable selection. On that note, we ordered six Thuja Green Giant trees from Forest Farm this year for the purpose of creating a privacy screen in the back yard. Although I thought they perhaps could have been a bit lusher they were nice trees, about five feet tall and very healthy. I would recommend these trees for being reasonably fast growing. In my experience with the five I have from a few years ago they don't grow three feet in a year like the hype says but they are lovely, tough little trees that make a hedge. And they don't really require pruning and trimming to look nice. Hope this helps. Kate Here is a link that might be useful: Forest Farm

I don't know that my answer will help, but my sympathies on your chinese elm. I have 2 and they are my favorites. Last year the one in the back yard got a strange yellowing pattern on the leaves near the end of the summer. Only the newer leaves. Most consensus was too much water or too little iron. THen a smart guy on here said zinc deficiency. I spread zinc throughout fall, winter, spring and watered it in. This year it looks wonderful. Now the one in front is not as green as the one in back, and it is the more mature one. It was also much later to start to leaf out. I bought epsoma tree food, two bags, spread it and watered in deeply with the sprinkler. I so wish I had irrigation! THe tree guy wanted $75 to feed it with some kind of underground squirt gun. I did it for far less than that. Maybe not the same result, but will see. I am thinking you have it right about your trees. I would get some tree food and give them a gentle dose, and keep a close eye on them. It sounds like they are bouncing back already. How deep does your water usually go when you have irrigation? Deep enough? I look forward to answers to your question, too.