Death spirel?Apple tree

[Rand]

I have a Gala apple tree. Its young and is only 3" tall. I had it in a five gallon bucket. Two days ago. when che king on it i notice loads of green aphids on it. I crushed some. I clipped off the leaves that had started to curl and had the most aphid on them. Then I seen that a colony of fire ants had taken up residence in the bucket. So i grabbed some and killer spectrcide grain ant killer and put that on the fresh mound. It is said hind site is 20/20 and looking back at it i know it was a huge mistake. I fear Ive poisoned the tree to the point it will not survive about 16 hours after i poured the ant killer I removed the tree from the bucket gently.. washed all the soil from the roots and re planted it in a fresh garden pot . today is the start day two since the antkiller and the mature leaves on the tree have started browning. Is there anything else I can do to try and salvage this little guy? No more antkiller for one . Will only time tell? I new to gardening and first apple tree I have ever tried to grow.

 

[zigs]

Welcome to the forums

The ant killer shouldn't have damaged the tree, it's more likely the ants moved the soil away from the roots. so if the ants have gone and it's had a good soak then it should pick up

 

[Rand]

Welcome to the forums

I talked to a guy at church who said since i moved it i put the tree into shock.. And to get root stimulator and put it on the roots.. the add some mir

 

[Chuck]

The fire ant bait did not hurt the tree. What hurt the tree the most was removing the soil. The tree is now in transplant shock. All the ants did was as Zigs said, they loosened up the soil around the roots. The fire ants were probably feeding on the aphids as they are omnivores. They like protein and carbohydrates both. Fire ants are a big problem, to humans mainly, but also to some plants. Okra comes to mind about plant damage. On a small apple tree there is nothing for the ants to eat. No apples, no blooms. The TV adds about fire ant baits are IMO a little misleading. I have used all kinds of fire ant killers and by far the best and fastest way to eliminate a fire ant mound is to use a spinosad based insecticide soil drench. Pour it over a mound today and tomorrow there won't be an ant to be found. As for the aphids the spinosad works great on them too but so does insecticidal soap. I don't think you have killed the tree but to make sure go get a product named SuperThrive. Follow the directions and thoroughly water the tree with it. It will take a few days but you will start to see new growth.

 

[Rand]

My neighbor had a bootle of green light root stimulator&starter solution.. He told me that I shocked it as you had mentioned.. Thanks by the way for the reply. I Added that to it and I suppose it's just a waiting game now..

 

[Chuck]

My neighbor had a bootle of green light root stimulator&starter solution.. He told me that I shocked it as you had mentioned.. Thanks by the way for the reply. I Added that to it and I suppose it's just a waiting game now..

GreenLight Root Stimulator is basically just a fertilizer. SuperThrive isn't a fertilizer. It is a synthetic vitamin. It smells just like vitamin E but it's not. I am an organic gardener and do not use chemicals or synthetics, but for SuperThrive, at any time. This stuff is only for important plants that may be in danger of death. It really does work. I have literally brought back trees that I would have sworn were dead. It isn't expensive either and the smallest bottle will last a long time.

 

[Rand]

I will pick some up ..Since I used the Green light already . should I wait two weeks or so before using it? Will it over dose the plant

 

[Chuck]

I will pick some up ..Since I used the Green light already . should I wait two weeks or so before using it? Will it over dose the plant

Wait about a week. You don't want to overwater