I hate to the barrier of bad news… mold… go figure, Southern Foirida…
That’s black mold on EVERY surface in the second photo…Even the boards on the back stand and cinder blocks… The spores splash everywhere.
You can treat the leaves, the spots will remain on old leaves untill NEW leaves form— like forever.., but you will never get rid the spots. Light spray of Fungicide once a month on new leaves?
Real nice Portulacaria afra bonsai. That IS the natural size of the leaves, NOT related to the Jade family. My 20 YO potulacaria bonsai are whimpy by comparison. I have (some) mold spots, too; AND , I live in a desert area… I have never considered defoilating a Portulacaria… hhhmmm… sounds like fun…
I see your bougainvillea has spots, too… if it is not evergreen, sheds leaves in fall, treat in spring with fungicide several times, as the new leaves come out. Otherwise, spray every time you get a new flush. COVER your bonsai soil. You need the pots microbiom… I have white powdery mold on my Norway maple leaves, EVERY summer. Monthly spraying as new leaves flush…
Do landscape Juniper do well in Florida?
Good luck…
Bonsai On!
KurtP
Ahh interesting Kurt, I never thought of that. Thank you very much, I’ll do that. Yes the junipers do well, just seem to go dormant during the peak summer.
Might be worth treating the benches and blocks with a spray of strong bleach and a quick scrub to knock the mold down on those surfaces. Give them about a day to dry out before putting the trees back on the bench. Won’t kill it all, but will reduce it a bit.
Yes, what Marty said… good longterm idea. We are in the same bonsai club.
Be aware, the bleach will probably kill the ground plants… maybe do it away from your garden area… ?
Use eye protection and cheap nitrile gloves. Maybe a mask if you have a breathing problem with mold.
KurtP
Welcome to Florida in the summer! I’ve lived here 20 years and have benches that look like this too. In my experience, mold on my benches have never impacted the health of my trees. I suspect Dluigi’s jade has something wrong with it that is unrelated to those benches.
Scott