Bye Bye Pretty Iochroma

Forgive me for posting this here, but I know many of you brug lovers also love Iochroma. I am one of them, but I just pulled mine out. It is very early yet in the growing season, and whiteflies are a huge problem here in Southern California. I have removed or chopped down all the plants which they are attracted to like my hibiscus trees. They also like the back of brug leaves but not nearly as much as hibiscus and now Iochroma. They have certain hosts plants, and my Iochroma was covered with hundreds of their larvae so out it came.

Back of leaf:

More larvae:

More:

It also appeared to have a mite problem which I had just treated it for with Bayer's:

Clare, I'm sorry. What a nightmare!

My word, Clare, that's awful, I am so sorry!!! What in the world will you do, besides removing the heavily infested plants?? After seeing your photos, I realize I haven't had whiteflies, at least not to that extent. Lots of the insect products I use say they are for whiteflies but is there a special one you will use there?? Whatever, good luck, I surely hope you are able to stop them!!!

I guess I better go check mine tomorrow. I sure do have whiteflies on some of my brugs. Blasted things.

Oh Clare! How awful! Is that that pretty purple one like you sent me?

I THINK I remember a post by Mary H. somewhere saying that she used a spray of water and Murphy's Oil Soap on them and that it worked. They are very hard to get rid of, but why don't you give it a try? 'Seems like maybe it would smother the little suckers to death. I don't recall the proportions, but since it has an oil base I'd make it fairly mild so as not to burn them, and just try it on a few things to see how it goes.

Crossing my fingers for you. If it succeeds and you want a rooted piece of your purple iochroma back, I've got one waiting for you!

Hugs,
Kay

Oh no! Im sorry Clare. How heartbreaking.

Can't you just strip the leaves?....the white flies would have to go elsewhere
by the time the leaves grow back the white flies will have found a new victim......
hate to see pretty plants go bye-bye

It is 1/4 cup (2 ounces) per gallon of the Murphy's Oil Soap, it does help with whiteflies but you have to spray pretty often, I think like every 3 days or so.

Oh too sad, Clare. But I understand!! I tossed all my double whites for they were mite magnets. I just got sick of the battle.

I THINK ( have not looked) Bayer Tree and Shrub kills whiteflies. 1 application in the soil lasts a year.

Clare, I have lots of white flies but i haven't seen anything like that on the back of any of my plant leaves. Thanks for the suggestion, Mary.

I have started with NeemOil....seems to work.

Neem Oil is amazingly good and because it suffocates, the bugs do not get immune.

Hi guys! Thanks for all your responses and sympathy! I had an eye appointment today so my eyes are pretty dialated, and this is blurry as I write so please forgive me if I make typos.

The Iochroma plant was pretty wide and tall, and I was pulling off the leaves for a little while, but it is so early in the season yet, and they would lay eggs on the new little leaves as they come in. This infestation is nothing compared to how they would look if I left it untreated. It would look like very thick cotton hanging from the underside of each leaf.

We took out a whole huge hibiscus tree which was badly infested a couple of years ago, and we cut two hibiscus bushes nearly to the ground, and I remove the leaves from the new growth completely every summer. I only use the drastic measures for the host plants. For the rest of my plants, I do use Neem Oil, Ultra Light Year-Round Horticultural Oil, and Greenlight Garden Oil spray on the back of the leaves. You guys are right that only an oil-based pesticide will smother their bodies and suffocate them. They are immune to nearly everything else. The local strawberry farmers are frustrated by them. One summer, it looked like it was snowing in the parking lot of Home Depot, it was so bad. Here we have both the small whitefly and the giant whitefly. These are the giant ones, but I have the small ones too.

Thanks, Kay! Yes, this is the same one that I sent to you. Thanks so much for your kind offer, but if I can keep the host plants out of my garden, the whitefly population is much easier to control.

Thanks, Kell, for that recommendation. I'll check it out. I do get whiteflies on the back of the brug leaves and plumeria leaves too, and I'll never get rid of those so it would be great if the Bayer Tree and Shrub does in fact work.

I guess what we have here are the small whiteflies, I generally only have a problem with them on my gardenias, and yes the Bayer Tree and Shrub did work wonders to reduce the white fly population.

Thanks, Mary. I'm going shopping for it right away.

Kell, you are sure right about the double white attracting whiteflies. I noticed the small whiteflies on the underside of the leaves tonight, but I am in love with my double white so I'll treat it with the Bayer.

At least Solid Gold looks pretty good this evening!

Great pics Clalre!!

I KNOW cutting those plants down must have ripped your heart out!! SOOOOOO sorry!! That is terrible!! Bonnie

Thanks, Kell!

Thanks, Bonnie. My Iochroma was lovely, but I know the work that I just saved myself by taking it out so I'm actually not as devastated as you might think;-)

My abutilons are whitefly magnets & my mom was recently telling me that her citrus this year were covered with the flies and eggs too. I told her a couple of weeks ago to do what I do, mix up her sprayer with regular dishsoap & water, and adjust her sprayer nozzle to point upwards to get the underside of the leaves. She has done it twice & was just telling me yesterday that the infestation is gone. She could not even find anymore eggs. I know it sounds simple, and it is. But it has done for me what no chemical systemics or sprays could do.

Pudgy, you are right about Abutilons. I haven't had trouble with my citrus trees, but I will try that if I do. I do get all sorts of ants which farm aphids on them though, but I use the hose to blast them also.

Oh, I know, I think CA sits right smack on top of an anthill! I finally started using that Tanglefoot on the trunks of everything, that is the only way I could stay ahead of them. Looks crummy, but it works.
I am sad for your Iochroma, mine have not been a magnet for anything yet, and I hope it stays that way.
Well on the positive side, now you get to buy a new plant to put in its place! :~)

Pudgy, thanks so much. I might need to look into that Tanglefoot. I just bought several two-packs of Raid for ants at Home Depot. You are right that they are everywhere and get into everything. I can't put my nose in a flower without brushing the ants off it first.

I have so many plants, that I can't buy anything anymore, but a container plant did in fact take the Iochroma's place. Kay so generously sent me some rooted Thunbergia erecta plants, and one of them now has its place in the row of purple plants where the Iochroma used to be:-)

Well good luck in the battle. We will put up the good fight and hopefully be somewhat ant-free this summer. :~)
Happy Gardening,
Donna

I've never seen anything like that (that white fuzzy). Maybe that means they don't live up here. Hope not. Aphids & Spider Mites are enough for me!