Fukien Tea Tree - New growth with Mould/Scale/Bugs?

It has been a little while since my last update on the reason I set up this blog - my new Fukien Tea Tree. Much has changed since the very first post and the growbox which is now stands in is fully fitted with everything the tree needs to grow well.  However, as with all things there are hiccups along the way which I have experienced and am still trying to sort.

Growbox complete with lighting and temperature/humidity gauge.

Lets start with the good news. My Fukien Tea Tree has experienced  a lot of new growth since sitting under its new lighting system.  Many new buds have popped up all over the tree and new small leaves are starting to grow bigger and bigger.  This was a huge sigh of relieve considering the tree had a few days of moving locations.  Something must be right if it is starting to grow.

Growbox with lid open

The problem that I am experiencing is something that I am struggling to diagnose myself (so any help will be great).  The tree has started to shown signs of what looks like white fluffy mould.  At first I thought it was just a one off or a bit of dust. I brushed it off and then cut off the leaves it was on just to be cautious.  Unfortunately this 'mould' has continued to reappear on the trunk, branches and leaves as well as on the cuttings of the tree.

Fukien Tea Tree cuttings with fuzzy mould.

I am hoping it is mould. Today my new temperature gauge and humidity gauge arrived and the temperature seems to be sitting at 22.5 degrees centigrade. The humidity on the other hand is way up in the 80%. I know that the Fukien Tea Tree needs humidity over 25% but 80%+ seems extremely high and in one way backs up the mould idea.  I am now going to work on bringing the humidity down to around 50% which seems like a better level for the humidity for the tree.

Fukien Tea Tree Bonsai with new growth and mould evident.

The other causes of this 'mould' are much more worrying. For this 'mould' may not be mould. It could be scale, spider mites or some other small critter.  If their is no improvement on the tree when I lower the humidity then I will have to look into these options and treat the tree accordingly.  Any of these can be very serious so I am slightly worried. 

In other news I have now planted three lemon seeds that had sprouted using the techniques mentioned in a previous post.  Along with this I have also planted a handful of sprouting kiwi seeds. Hopefully I can get some positive results out of both of these.

Three lemon seeds planted. Two on the right, one on the left.