Tiny white spotty things on white pine...

6 years ago

Seems every month or so I have some new issue with one of my plants! I guess this is just how it goes with gardening, but I really hope this one is no big deal.

Noticed the other day that one of my white pines has these tiny little white dots, that I assumed might be some sort of mold because we've had a good amount of rain and this little guy is partially shaded this time of year by a huge bloodgood. But after a little looking around here, it seems as though it might be this "pine bark adelgid"... does that seem correct to anyone here? And if so, what is the best course of treatment, if anything? I am reading differing opinions- from do absolutely nothing to dormant oils to insecticidal soap…

I don't like to use chemicals if I don't need to-- kids/dogs/bees/all of it-- but I don't want a small problem to get a lot bigger either. I've only just started with these dwarf conifers three years ago and they are each very precious to me. Plus one of the very first ones I bought was planted in this exact spot and unfortunately I lost it due to record-breaking rainfall here, the month after I planted it. That was a Pinus strobus 'Tiny Kurls', looked very similar to this little guy. The issues are completely unrelated (I think?) but somehow I feel extra intent on not losing this very similar tree in this very similar place... would feel extra painful somehow!

I can't right now remember the name of this particular variety, though I know it was almost identical from what I could see online. I have a tag out in the garage somewhere…

One last thing I should mention is that I don't have any other pines around this one but I do have a couple other conifers nearby, two of which (Picea orientalis 'Tom Thumb' and Abies koreana 'Kohouts Icebreaker') are brand-new babies and basically my most favorite things ever... no exaggeration. I can't take any chances with them... I saved up for them and had them on my list for years before purchasing! Husband thinks I'm a lunatic (fine by me). So I realize I might be coming off a little dramatic but this is why.

Of course I have no idea if I'm even correct in my diagnosis, or if this thing would infect those trees but I just can't be messing around is what I'm saying.

Any help very greatly appreciated as always!

Nicole

Featured Answer

stuartlawrence (7b L.I. NY)

6 years ago

I had the same on my Pinus Strobus Pendula for years. It never seemed to effect the tree. I just left it alone.

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Comments (12)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
woolly aphids

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=woolly+aphids+&t=ffcm&iar=images&iax=1&ia=images
nnmjdklil
Original Author
6 years ago
Wait so is that a different pest altogether? How can I be sure which one I have? Maybe I'll break out my daughter's microscope and have some fun…
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Sara Malone (Zone 9b)
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I get wooly aphids here on pines from time to time. I've never done anything about them and the trees have not seemed to show any adverse effects. Try blasting with a strong stream of water if they bother you.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
dont need a micro to see them ... find the biggest fattest one you can find.. and poke it.... it will walk away .. lol ... dont confuse the last spot it sat and left detritus ...

do NOT KILL YOUR PLANTS WITH TOO MUCH LOVE ...

ignore them.. unless the population goes wild ... and water is the usual safe easy treatment for aphids ...

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nnmjdklil
Original Author
6 years ago
Ok so I tried to poke a bunch of the fattest ones and they just seemed to disintegrate into wispy sticky nothing... definitely nobody was walking. Should I still follow the same water-blasting protocol? I'm a touch nervous to spray it hard enough with water to knock all the white off because the tree doesn't seem strong or established enough. I feel like I might blow some of the needles right off it- it's only about a foot and a half tall.

Also it's very humid here already, not sure if that factors into anything...
plantkiller_il_5
6 years ago
Hey Nicole , how is your front yard project coming along

time for some pics

ron
nnmjdklil
Original Author
6 years ago
Ron! Oh my goodness I don't know how I missed this message, all the way from mid-May!? The front is coming, slowwwwwly but surely- though I don't think it'll photograph well yet in the least. Still way too much free space/mulch/brick/house and not enough tree! I will be sure to get some pics on here soon anyway though, tickled that you've even remembered! I do have some new additions I'm quite excited about but they're just such tiny babies still that unless it's a close up of just those plants, it's all just still a little underwhelming. Enough changes have taken place though, that my excitement level is steady growing!!!

its getting dark out there now so I'll quickly post a couple of the ones I took in spring, during that special time of fresh buds : )
nnmjdklil
Original Author
6 years ago
Ok here goes ; )

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Fernspray Gold’ (I'm going to try to get all tree names right!)... bought as a teeny tiny bonsai starter back in 2010 I think- one of the only plants I brought with me to this house when we moved 4 years ago. Developed a leader shortly after the move, I kind of like it. Pinks in front.

Acer palmatum dissectum 'Red Dragon', in front of a Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Green Arrow’ that a buck rubbed autumn before last... someone here might remember helping me figure out why the middle portion was dead! As suggested I decided to keep it, after cutting off the 3/4 that was dead. I don't know what kind of tree it looks like now but it's still interesting to me, and I don't have enough other stuff out there yet to justify ripping it out anyway. Ah well. A bright yellow barberry gifted by my mom behind the maple. Still want to grab some big rocks for around some of these guys.

Picea pungens, 'Globosa' from westernevergreen in my first online conifer order, in spring of 2015. So exciting to see them all getting a little bigger; seeing the new buds in spring are one of my favorite things in the whole wide world. Right up there with watching the kids sleep and smelling the dog's paws, that level of good.

Next are the other 2 from that order, Pinus parviflora 'Adcock's Dwarf' and Pinus parviflora 'Goldilocks'. These things are all obviously still very small but I've loved watching them, especially this spring.

Then I have some decent growth on the Picea abies 'Pendula' that I also bought 2 years ago, from a nursery here. And this spring we splurged on a nice sized Picea pungens 'The Blues'... (I went a tad crazy this spring with big deal favorites).

Then of course I have the curly thing that was the subject of this post-- I can't remember now exactly what variety it is, have to find the tag in the garage.

Next I have my two most exciting plant purchases ever, the Tom Thumb and Kohout's Icebreaker I mentioned initially, which part of me thought I should wait until I had more space filled to buy, since they are so tiny and will remain that way for such a long time... but the other part of me thought I kind of have to get them early if I want to see any growth whatsoever! These two are my second online order, from coniferkingdom. At first I felt a little bit sick spending so much on such tiny little babies but then they gave me a free Picea omoriko 'Pendula Bruns' on top of it and while I have no idea where I'm ever going to put him, it made it all OK from there on out. And then when they arrived, I was so pleasantly surprised with the size of the Tom Thumb, though the trunk itself is pretty skinny.

(Oh my gosh how cute is that tiny little thing? Can barely see it.)

We've got a couple teeny tiny maples out there too, sprinkled in some. It's all still a little pitiful looking from the street but once things grow enough to sort of disguise gas/electric boxes and rainspouts and such, I think (hope) it's going to be really something. : )

thanks for asking Ron... feels good to be remembered!!

-Nicole
gardener365
6 years ago
Pine Bark Adelgids

I use Bonide 609 at the rate of 1.5 teaspoons per gallon as a spray per the label.

Dax
nnmjdklil
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks Dax, I think I'll try that! It's still all over it and the humidity is only going to get worse here, doubt that'll help the situation. Anyway I'll give it a shot, thank you.

Nicole
gardener365
6 years ago
You're welcome, Nicole.

Follow whatever the safe temperatures listed on the label state. I always spray fungicides and insecticides when the temperatures are at or below 70F. I always know that's safe.

Dax