I can completely understand how you could send something without knowing because initially you often can't tell. You can get eggs and not know it and then forward them on before you can see something. But to send a plant that had visible webbing on it is rotten. Soil mealies are very hard to see until you have a virtual infestation. If I hadn't been using a 60x scope and looking at the roots with it I would have only noticed it on two plants that had a teeny bit of webbing by the soil line. The rest I wouldn't have thought twice about. After looking at all of them I finally learned the subtle things to notice but still I'm sure I missed other signs that an experience person would see. I made it worse because I replanted and moved them around so what would probably only have been in one cup ended up in several.
I thought it a bit extreme initially when some people said they isolate in such severe ways but now I really understand why they do it. I have at times started to get lax about it but have made myself be strong and boy oh boy am I glad I listened to ya'll who said to be careful.
I told this to Susan but I'll say it again that she shouldn't feel bad in any way because she didn't know. I could just have easily done it too and may do it in the future even though we all try not to.
February Blooms
Well said Anna!! No matter how hard we try,it could happen to any of us.
Lynn
Thank you all but I still feel awful.... I should have known when I seen and tossed the one pet plant... I have taken care of the problem now but I still see red when I think of it.... I got in the tub of babies and I did not see a one when I sent everyone those plants.... I will be going back to putting Marathon in every pot as I plant... better safe than sorry....
Once again sorry...
Hugs,
Susan
Is marathon widely available or is it something I should try to order online? We have a wal-mart(of course) and a home depot . Thanks, Lou
Beautiful pictures everyone!
Karen, your Leucotricha is just too cute! Love those furry little leaves!
Can't wait to see it when it gets big as they are just breath taking!
I have a purple passion plant with the purple fuzzy leaves and just love it.
Some plants are all about the foliage aren't they?
Kim
Lou, you can get Marathon from Cape Cod Violetry. You have to call them for pricing though.
Lou,
Go to Lowes or Home Depot and look for Bayer's Tree and Shrub systemic... 2 to 3 Tablespoons to a gallon of water will kill the bugs... I am very sorry.... I do understand if you all don't want plants from me again.... I gave you all plants and I really did not know they were in there....
Cape Cod V. is John and Barbara. Two of the nicest people you ever want to meet.....
Sorry,
Susan
We all know that you didn't know! There is no way you would have sent them otherwise. I am grateful that you did and I know that sounds crazy but I've been so worried about how horrible it would be and it's not nearly as bad as I expected. I found it quickly and I treated it easily with the systemic and I learned that I could handle it. It may sound crazy but the whole thing has made me much less worried about everything.
Now if anyone could prevent people from passing along flu and colds! I am getting sick today not sure with what yet but I have a horrible headache and I'm hot and cold and feel like a truck ran over me so I guess I get a day off tomorrow. I slept for awhile this afternoon and got up in time to watched a bit of the Olympics and now I'm headed back to bed. I'm sure I'll give it to DH next.
Honestly, I have had both mealies and scale before in the past when I grew plants and I would rather have mealies than scale any day. I find scale SO much harder to deal with.
I wish you all the best of luck.
I plan to pick up some tree and shrub this spring (just in case) when my orders all start arriving.
Kim
susan;
that can happen to the best of us.if people think they will never get any kind of bugs in there life, there crazy.thank goodness we have chemicals we can use.i'll take plants from you anytime.
mrsbonnie
Thank you all again.... I am begining to feel better now... I hate bugs... I also hate when people come into work with there kids or themselves and they are sick and just pass it along.... we were sick since xmas until two weeks ago...
Kim, Where the hell have you been? Nice to see you... Here is on flower I could not get to grow from a leaf and when I bought the plant I would kill it...LOL Remembering John....
Hugs,
susan
Thank you all again.... I am begining to feel better now... I hate bugs... I also hate when people come into work with there kids or themselves and they are sick and just pass it along.... we were sick since xmas until two weeks ago...
Kim, Where the hell have you been? Nice to see you... Here is on flower I could not get to grow from a leaf and when I bought the plant I would kill it...LOL Remembering John....
Hugs,
susan
Thank you all again.... I am begining to feel better now... I hate bugs... I also hate when people come into work with there kids or themselves and they are sick and just pass it along.... we were sick since xmas until two weeks ago...
Kim, Where the hell have you been? Nice to see you... Here is on flower I could not get to grow from a leaf and when I bought the plant I would kill it...LOL Remembering John....
Hugs,
susan
Wow that has never happened...LOL sorry
sue
Susan,
Rose Sensation is very sweet- yummy looking! Congrats on parenting Remembering John;)
As it turns out, I already had a leaf down of Frosty Twilight, so I will send on a baby plant to you (keeping fingers crossed for successful reproduction!).
Fall Fresco is one of my favorites. The bloom looks like milk spilled on the chin. LOL Love her big blooms. Mine just finished a multi week bloom cycle.
Susan,
I have not seen any mealies on the plants you sent. I just need to have something to use "just in case". two of the strep babies didn't make it , but the rest are fine and growing up. Thanks so very much for them and I will take plants from you any day!!!!
We got about 8 inches of new snow today and it is still snowing!!! Ugh I need sunshine and warm temps. Lou
You can send plants to me anytime Susan! Your steps are beautiful.
Edited to add.
Please everyone,get into the practice of isolating all new plants that come into your home.Something like this can wipe out your whole collection.Even if your out of room,a plant/plants can go into a plastic gallon bag and stay there for months so you can watch it. Jan
This message was edited Feb 15, 2010 7:33 PM
Lou, from what I found out you may want to check out the roots... It seem to be where people are finding the.
Thanks for still wanting plants from me... It won't happen again... I am going back to puting Marathon in every pot... Jan is going to help me when she comes for a visit.... Next month I hope... :-)
Hugs,
Susan
Lou I agree with what Susan said. About ten of my pots had at least a few that I could see but I didn't see them until I took the plant out of the pot and removed the soil. Even then on a couple I had to rinse the soil off the roots to see them. They eat the delicate new roots and were stuck on them and I still couldn't tell them from perlite until I got out the 60X scope thingee. That is why I think these are so devastating because you can't see them until they have really infested your pots. To find them early was just luck on my part.
GrowHappy had a great way to tell them apart that I remember someone else telling me: if it crunches when you squeeze it then it's perlite but if it squishes (I shuddered when I typed that) then it's mealies. I did that with a toothpick.
LOL, yep, Anna the crunch test always works for me. Under running water, I hold the roots and whatever doesn't wash off, I squeeze it. If it doesn't crunch or feel hard, I know it's a mealy. I've used the toothpicks before as well, when I'm feeling squeamish. :)
Isolation is the key, as Jan said. I had isolated the plants Susan sent me, so no worries. I've treated them all with Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub(BATS).
With foliar mealies, I always spray with alcohol. If it turns pinkish/reddish, it's a mealy. If the color doesn't change, it's something else. I usually toss any gessie plants that have foliar mealies. They are just too hard to eradicate, in AVs particularly. They hide in places you can't imagine. Those suckers are not immobile, either. They do crawl and quickly. When they lay eggs, it can be hundreds. Gross. I'm sorry- I'll leave this topic alone now!
Yes Susan,I'll be visiting next month and we will play plants ^_^
Lou,If you read the emails on the yahoo group,(stupid question-bugs)there's one from a lady and how she used Hearts Flea and Tick dog shampoo (citrus)and got rid of soil mealies in her hoya plant.That's what I'm going to use.I'm off in a bit to go get some and it's cheap,3:00 a bottle.Yea!.Also there was a word of warning on that group about the BATS.Check the label and see if it's got fertilizer in it.From what I read the new Bats that's on the shelves have it.Yesterday when I called my garden center all they is the one with fertilizer.One man used that one and his plants didn't do well at all.
Glad to know about the crunch test!
Jan
My pretty kohleria is starting to bloom.
Oh Jan, that bloom is just breathtaking!
SO pretty.
Congratulations
Kim
Good morning Kim,nice seeing you again ^_^ Thank you,it is a pretty plant,would you like a rhizome?
Thanks Jan,
I'll get some as soon as Dave decides to shovel the driveway. He maintains that as long as he doesn't do it, longer I don't spend any money. I told him"Not so, I can buy on line!", so we will get out whenever HE wants to go somewhere. LOL
How long did it take for your kohleria to bloom? I have a "Marquis de Sade" that has grown nicely for two years, but no sign of buds yet. I am trying to learn patience, but it's niot in my nature . LOL
Lou
That's a really nice Kohleria Jan.Well done.
I am going to try the pet shampoo also,but I have not seen a problem so far.
Lynn
Jan my friend, I thank you dearly for the kind offer but since I'm just starting out again I really want to go slow and steady.
I ordered all my old favorites to be delivered this spring and eventually when they get big enough I'm going to get back into propagating as I enjoyed that so much.
I steered clear of anything that had a rhizome such as sinningias and kohlerias to start off my collection and I'm sure that once I get back into it that I will attack growing those again but for now I'm starting with my good ol faithfuls to begin with.
I did really love growing the kohleria though and might just take you up on that offer in the future.
Right now the only thing that I will have for trading will be outside garden plants and I'm going to start making my beaded plant hangers again as it's going to take me a bit before I can propagate enough to trade with.
You are SO sweet to offer though............ ((((( Hugs )))))
Kim
This message was edited Feb 16, 2010 12:39 PM
Just checking out the alternative copyright--saw that I had a choice on another forum. Only one bloom on this plant==one of the few that doesn't have whatever is ruining my plants. I've dropped it a couple of times and broken leaves--maybe I should do that to the rest of them!
Hello ladies,
LOL.Lou,That was a good line you told your Dave ^_^ I'm not sure how old the kohleria is.There heavy feeders,are you fertilizing every time you water? Also there light piggies.I only grow under 2 bulbs so I have my plants pretty close to the lights.You could try moving your plant up.I tried growing them in natural light like I've read about,but they get to tall and lanky from me.Oh another thing,for me they won't bloom till there pretty pot bound.But everyone's growing environments is different.
Kim,If you change your mind about growing kohleria,just tap,tap at my d-mail door.No trade needed silly lady ^_^
Hi Lynn,Thank you.I'm glad you haven't seen anything! I sure hope the dog shampoo works,I got it and bathed the steps the other night and it was recommended to do it again in a week.It's good to know there's something affordable out there.I can't believe the prices of the chemicals.Yikes.
Pretty bloom Jan
Thanks Jan,
I have been fertilizing it everytime I water. So I will move it up closer to the lights. I sure would love to see it start blooming. Lou
Pictures folks,we need pictures!!!! LOL
Little chatterbox
Ness Fire Fly
I'm having better luck with these these days!
How pretty!
Keep those pictures coming girls.Love those violets and that's a beautiful orchid.
Lynn