treating gall mite

My MIL gave me a large fuchsia plant last night but this morning I discovered what I believe to be gall mite damage on some of it's leaves (looks like peach leaf curl). I've read up on some of the treatment regimens but before I defoliate the entire bush or toss the entire thing in the garbage I'd like to try something that is not quite that drastic.
Recommendations anyone? Bayer 2 in 1 or 3 in 1? An alcohol spray?

thanks,
d

picture quality is not great but I hope it provides a good enough view to confirm my suspicions

There is no need to toss it!! Prune the infected areas and treat with an insecticide like Bayer 2 in 1 granules or Bayer 3 in 1 spray. There are other products which will also kill the fuchsia mite. You just need to treat it on a regular schedule until you see new clean growth. So I would also recommend feeding every two weeks! As this will help it grow out of it much faster.

I just took a look at your photo, didn't do that before, and I don't see any evidence of fuchsia mite on those leaves. They just look like regular damage which can be caused from getting too dry. The leaves look fine. They wouldn't look like peach leaf curl. They would look more like they were made out of wax and someone had taken a flame too close to them and melted them. It causes deformed and twisted growth. Maybe a clearer photo would show what I cannot see. But I am hoping you don't have the fuchsia mite at all.

This message was edited Jun 21, 2010 9:03 PM

Thanks PC! I will do that. I was dreading the possibility of having to deal with gall mite and panicked. Thank you for having a cool head and good, sound advice.

You welcome! I know the dreaded gall mite is the main reason why one doesn't see fuchsias everywhere in landscaping like one used to. There used to be hedges of them in San Francisco like they have in Europe. I hope more people will give them a chance and we'll see them all over like we used to!

Too true! My MIL lives just south of San Francisco and this was a plant of hers so I assumed the worst. The plant was dug up, moved, re-potted, pruned heavily, fed and then treated with 3 in 1. It looks like pretty crispy right now but I have high hopes for it. Any additional advice is always welcome :-)