HELP!! What is this???

I have 4 grafted Tropical Hibiscus plants I got in the mail from FL a couple weeks ago. Of the 4, 'The Path' and 'Fifth Dimension' has these on the stock plant (the base stem that it is grafted on to) I have seen them there earlier, they don't move, and don't seem to be doing anything, except now there is more! What are they?? They do squish when I touch them... These 2 plants look the least happy of all my plants! UGGG!

Please Help.

I gave all my plants have a light application of Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower Insect killer spray, that lasts 30 days about 2 weeks ago. Being careful not to spray too much because they are very young and look a bit pathetic. I was afraid they would not be able to handle a big application. I did not spray the base trunk and soil... However the larger older hibiscus, I gave a healthy dose to, and they seem to be fine... Today I saturated all of my young ones again in the Bayer...

What do I do? Please Help!
Kristen

I can't say that I've seen these quite so up close (gee you must be a photographer by trade) so this may be a stretch but check out this link...some of your description sounds like snow scale...

http://www.hiddenvalleyhibiscus.com/care/scale.htm

Oh man D, I was just on that page. I'm getting that oil tomorrow! It's those pathetic grafted stupid plant I got in FL!!

This message was edited Jul 13, 2010 12:01 AM

I was thinking the same thing Dee.....snow scale on the main trunk. Haven't seen it in person, but it does fit the description.

I assumed they came from that place/online retailer. He grows too many plants in such a confined space. They're all jammed into the back yard.

Oh and thanks for the compliment, I actually am a photographer... Thanks :) Sorry for the outburst just before. But I was mad at the plants I got. He told me they were all big healthy plants, the only one that was supposed to be small was 'The Path', which turns out to be the second biggest... I actually said something to him after receiving them. Then immediately felt bad for doing so, I'm such a baby. NOW I HAVE SNOW SCALES!!! If they get to all my hibiscus, I just might loose it. Has anyone had this, with success in stopping it? I think I might have caught them early. Charles says he let it go for a year. It has only been a couple weeks for me.

First off I suggest you isolate your infected plants from the others to minimize the risk of spreading the scale. Then call the vendor and see what he will do to correct the problem. Hopefully he will do right by you.

I received some plants with snow scale last year. I immediately panicked and sprayed the heck out of them. It did kill the scale and I haven't seen any since so I think you have a good chance of eradicating the pest. However, I did have a problem with the vendor because my photos were not as clear as yours and she insisted I was mistaken saying she did not send me infected plants. She then refused giving me a refund since I'd treated the plants right away instead of just sending them back to her. Live and learn...never again.

Good luck and remember to breathe...

d

Thank you. I feel bad saying anything to him. He never responded to the other email I sent him saying I was disappointed with the plants he sent me in the first place. I payed $25 for each of these crappy plants. Im so mad.

So do I spray all my hibiscus, even if there is no sign of them anywhere else. Do I spray the leaves? I only see the scale on the bark. I did use a heavy application of the Bayer yesterday during my freak out session. Does age of the plant matter, if I spray the 3 really little ones I got from big bad flower? They look great, healthy...

[quote="blupit007"]Thank you. I feel bad saying anything to him. He never responded to the other email I sent him saying I was disappointed with the plants he sent me in the first place. I payed $25 for each of these crappy plants. Im so mad.

Why should you feel bad saying anything to him? Girl I know you are so disappointed...You paid big dollars for these plants, rightfully expecting something you surely didn't get. I am so sorry....Hope they get better soon

I'd definitely call them about the bugs--that's unacceptable and a reputable vendor would replace the plants or refund your money. If they're not responsive when you bring up problems to them, then I'd go into the Garden Watchdog and leave feedback about your experience. There are several other hibiscus vendors out there who sell better quality plants for less money so I'd find someplace else to order your plants from next time too.

I see in the Garden Watchdog there is a comment, from earlier in the year, about receiving hibiscus with snow scale from Winn Soldani's Fancy Hibiscus. Apparently nothing was done to correct the issue and he blamed the customer for the snow scale.

Thanks for the support. Maybe I will send an email. In the meantime, I got the oil Charles Black suggests. Im going to put it on now.

From HVH...

There are two ways to apply the oil. You can pour some of it in a container and, using a small paint brush, dip it in the oil and then paint the undiluted oil directly over the snow scale that you see. This way gives the very best control of where the oil goes, and is great for using on just a few plants or for just a few insects. If you have a bigger problem, fill an empty hand-held spray bottle with the horticultural oil. Get up close and spray it directly over the insects, avoiding the leaves unless the scale have gotten on the leaves too.

The key is to carefully inspect every infested plant and find every one of the bright white scale. By leaving your plant(s) in an isolated area after they are treated, you can return daily to inspect them for a week or so to make sure no other scale show up that you missed the first time around. Usually you will find a few more insects after the first treatment, so this follow up is important. After about a week of finding no new scale, you can return the hibiscus to where you want it, feeling confident that there are no more live snow scale on that plant.

I did it, I emailed him. I'm an awful person. He prolly wont even respond. I hate confrontation! But I spent $120 on these plants! Thanks D, I will use the paintbrush method on the bark. Not dilute it like the bottle says to. Let you know how it all goes. Thanks for all the great help and support. This is what a pathetic little 5th dimension I have from him...

This message was edited Jul 8, 2010 9:34 AM

This message was edited Jul 13, 2010 12:03 AM

That is not a $25 plant.

Not an awful person. Even if the plants are small, you're entitled to receive a healthy plant to start with. It's practically impossible to know exactly how large a plant will be. There are large established plants in quart sized pots and there are small ones that might have been potted up to quart size right before they're shipped to us. It's pretty easy to tell when you take it out of that pot and look for the root system.

It's just a learning experience Kristen. Some of my first hybrid hibiscus were purchased there. I actually went to his home and bought them there. My sixth sense told me there was something wrong with the conditions they were being grown in. There were plants everywhere jammed into that backyard. Unfortunately I had a bad case of "hibiscus fever", ignored my sixth sense, and bought 6 plants. None of them grew very strongly and I eventually rid of all of them. If your not happy with what you received you simply don't order from there again. That's what I have done. Thankfully there are plenty of other sources to buy quality hibiscus plants from.

While I got everyone's attention, and thank you all by the way... My Belle du Jour is having some yellowing leaves. It starts like a tie dye formation. And also Cindy's heart is having yellowing buds that leads to bud drop... No bugs on either and I have given 2 weeks worth of HVH's exact fertilizer recipe. What can it be?

another leaf

another yellow belle leaf

Yellow leaves, here and there, are a normal occurrence. The leaves are not meant to last forever and they eventually die back and new ones form. It also can be a sign of many other things like: temporary plant stress after shipment, overwatering, underwatering, too much sun, not enough sun, too hot, too cold, spider mites, overuse of pesticides. The plant does go through some stress during the shipping process and sometimes it can be several weeks before you see the signs of plant stress. Plant stress will eventually correct itself. If you don't see the plant wilting its not likely to be too much sun or not enough water. I doubt it's spider mites, because you've been doing quite a bit of spraying. It's not likely to be too hot or too cold. You had one hot day day and not bunches of them strung together. That narrows it down to not enough sun, overwatering or too much pesticide use. I think you said you had them in full sun and they all seemed fine and were not wilting, except for one of them. That would eliminate the possibility of not enough sun. Just based on my experiences when I started my hibiscus collection I'm guessing it's too much water or just temporary plant stress from shipping, which is very normal. For now you should probably make sure you're only watering them when they are dry. You can always put your fingers an inch or two into the soil and see if its damp or dry or just lift the pot and see if it feels heavy (damp) or light (dry). Should probably should also stop with the pesticide use for the time being. I think you've applied it several times in the past week or two. I would just give the plants several more weeks and see how they are doing.

Since we are talking pest control here I just wanted to point out there is a current co-op offering 100% pure neem oil.

Here is a link to the thread

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1110835/

and a link to a discussion about neem and it's uses:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/648454/

So he responded to my email and apologized up and down, and said to send the plants back to him and he will refund my money. (So I feel better about that.) I did apply the oil yesterday and cant see anymore scales now, but the plants ARE sickly looking and always have been. I don't know what to do. He also saw the photo of the 5th dimension I provided and said that yellow leaves are normal, but the entire plant (which only has a couple leaves on it) are all yellow.

Shipping them all back sounds like a pain in the butt. Any suggestions? Would you ship them back and buy somewhere else? Even though I really want those particular CV's (mostly 5th dimension & tigers eye). Though I could prolly find them somewhere else at some point...




This message was edited Jul 13, 2010 12:05 AM

It's really up to you if you ship them back or not...if you don't then you likely won't get your money back because by not sending them back you're basically saying you're OK with them bugs and all. But if you really want those particular cultivars I'd look around first and see if you can find them anywhere else--a lot of places are out of stock this time of year so you might not find them again right away. If this had happened to me, I am picky about wanting particular cultivars and once I see one I want I must have it, so I would likely keep the plants and try to nurse them back to health. But there's always the chance they won't recover so you have to balance your desire to have these particular cultivars now with the chance that you may lose them in the end anyway, and at least if you return them then you'll have that money back to spend on something else.

This is my Hardy Hibiscus in bloom this morning. This plant is 15 years old and 8 years in this location. I have 8 more I purchased from Plants Delight early last year that are getting ready to bloom. Plant from Burpee maybe 3 years from now. Plant Delights 2' tall, Burpee 6" tall. You get what you pay for.

What a beautiful sight!