I think I gave my Brugs an overdose of fertilizer. the leaves are falling off . I hope I havent killed them. anyone have an idea what to do now?
over fertilizing
Water, water, water - and make sure you have good drainage.
Even if you double dose the fertilizer, they usually don't blink an eye at it. Unless it was a seriously big dose of fertilizer, it shouldn't be a problem. I would rather think that it got too dry or that it might have some mites. I also find that in extremely hot weather, they just loose leaves for some reason.
I'm currious how your brugs turn out? Any recovery sign? Good lucks.
I have overdosed with 2 in 1 and caused leaves to fall off. (more than once) LOL
I've also fertilized a super dry plant and have that happen. In either case, they survived with no ill affects after recovery.
I have curling leaves and I read that it could because of overfertilizing... too much P? So I stopped fertilizing, started flushing with water. Now I've got new Ys going on and they're not putting out buds, but the leaves are still curling. I'm confused. Any advice?
Could be broad mites... can you post a pic?
Here's a photo of my problem plant... close-up to follow. I've flooded it with water every other day for the last two weeks, hoping to cleanse it of any excess fertilizer. Today, I gave it half-strength 15-30-15.
Here's a close-up of the crown. It's all twisty and the leaves are curling. Not looking like my other brugs.
I think its Mites
You have some major broad mites going on with that brug Andy,
I've not had one that big get broadmites, if I did, I'd be plucking those big leaves off for sure, and dumping them (leaves that is), and spraying that brug to kill the rest.
I'm about to go get some bayer systemic I think that's what it's called, someone said it's good for mites.
Thanks! I'll have a good look tomorrow to see if I can spot any mites. I checked a few days ago and didn't see any mites at all, and I know what to look for when I suspect spider mites. I checked all the new growth and each leaf, especially around the petioles. No bugs, no webs, no holes.
Broad mites are a new one on me, so maybe I missed them. I didn't find a reference in BugFiles. What do they look like? Do they make webs?
My control for mites is Malathion. If I find any evidence tomorrow, I'll start a spraying regimen.
I had a broad mite infest on a brug last year. I tried the sprays and already used a systemic
I kept it isolated from my other brugs, but ended up pitching it, soil and all into a garbage bag. It just couldn't shake them, I guess. The leaves never did come out "unpuckered" so I destroyed it. :( Sorry you're having this problem, Andy.
You can't really see the broadmites. their microscopic in size. but that's a very very promising sign whenthe leaves curl under like that , that you have broad mites. They often infest young leaves and newly rooted brugs that have the tiny leaves onthem . I've not seen them on any big brugmansias like youhave though. But I better not say that and give myself bad luck LOL
I'mw ith you l00% on the malathion, it's cheap and readily available, and it's what I use too, alot of folks don't use it though. It will do the job for sure.
Broadmites don't make webs, but like I said, their microscopic and you cannot see them with thenaked eye, the leaves turning under is a good sign. spraying underneath the leaves when you spray for them, as that's where their located at.
Spider mites will take over the whole top of the plant infesting it with spider webs and you can see the tiny mites in the webs. the leaves will be spotty and looks like the life is being drained out of them LOL which it is fo rsure.
andycdn,
As several people have mentioned, you do have an infestation of the broad/cyclamen type mites. Unless you have a microscope you will not see these pest. They are in fact so small, that they can hitch a ride to new plants on the feet of other insects such as white flies.
I consider these pest the worst that you can get when growing brugs, because they are so hard to bring under control. I would much rather deal with spider mites any day than the broad/cyclamen type mites.
And brugs are not the only plant they will infest. They will attack the following plants too.
Pepper plants
Impatiens (All Species of Impatiens)
Iochromas
Plumeria
Begonias
And many, many other plants
Right now the best products that you can get to control the broad type mites are products like; Avid, Forbid, etc. These products are very effective, however they are very expensive. Even though expensive, very little goes a long way. The major drawback to these products is, the mites can and are becoming resistant to these products. One of these products suggest that it not be applied more than three times in one growing season for that reason.
One thing that is effective against them is horticultural type oils, but it is not as effective as Forbid and Avid. And when using the oils, such as Neem or any other oil, you must cover every square inch of the plant. The oil works by sufficating all stages of the mites life cycle; eggs, larva, nymph and adult. A big plus about using oils to fight the broad or spider mites is, NO INSECT has ever developed a resistance to horticultural oils. Also you must be very careful when spraying with oils, that the plant is not stressed, especially from being too dry. And you cannot apply the oils when the temperatures are hot.
Whatever type of product you do decide to spray with, please do as Kathy Ann has suggested; strip all of the big leaves off. It will save on time and product.
I have been battling these pest for about three years now. I have not used either the Forbid or Avid, mainly because I cannot afford to purchase the products due to their high price. However, I have been using oils to try to keep them at acceptable levels. But with the extremely hot weather we have been having, I have not been able to spray like I really need to keep them under control.
There is however a species of predatory mite that will feed on the broad and cyclamen mites. It is: Amblyseius californicus or Neoseiulus californicus. From what I can gather these two names are for the same predatory mite, Neoseiulus californicus.
Since that I will have to be bringing my brugs in for the winter in about 6 - 8 weeks, it is too late to use them this year. But I do plan to use these pedatory mites in my battle against the broad mites next year.
I would provide a link to a post I made at another brug forum about this issue, but it would be against the rules. So I am just going to copy and paste what I wrote at that site below. It will provide you and everyone one else that is interested with some background info on the predatory mites, and some sources were you can purchase the predatory mite.
I wish you the best of luck in fighting this brug pest.
Below is the post I made at another brug forum.
"Sorry about the long post, but I feel this is an important subject. And I am just trying to provide as much information about this subject as I can at one time.
It seems that over the past few years that many of us brugmansia growers have had to contend with what seems to be a plague of mites, whether it is spider mites, or in my opinion, the bane of my brug growing experience; the notorious broad and cyclamen type mites. All of these species of mites can be a real pain to bring under control, but at least for me, it is the broad/cyclamen mites that are the hardest to bring under control.
All of us have tried many different methods and products to try to win the war against these pests; some with good results, some with not so good results. Some growers, such as me, would prefer to not have to resort to using harsh chemicals on the mites. My reason for feeling that way is, I really don’t want to apply something to my plants that can harm other creatures such as; butterflies, moths, bees, humming and other birds, the “good” bugs, but especially my pets and my family.
Many brug growers report very good success using products such as, Forbid and Avid. One drawback to these products is the high price, but a little does go a long way. However, the main drawback to these products is that the mites can and are quickly developing resistance to products such as these.
Some report adequate control using organic methods. Such as oil based products like Neem or other oil based products. But when using Neem and other oil type products you must make sure that the leaf surfaces are thoroughly covered. And in hot weather there is the risk of damaging the foliage, even to the point of complete defoliation of the plant. Believe me, I have defoliated some of my brugs before using oil based products, however, it did destroy the broad/cyclamen type mites. My plants just had to grow a new set of leaves, which set them back somewhat.
So this brings me to what I feel in the future will be the best method to combat the mites, an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program using predatory mites to control the pest mites. What really got me thinking about this was Alistair’s post about using a predatory mite (Persimilis) to control an outbreak of spider mites. Alistiar reported great success using the predatory mite to control the spider mites. So I was really hoping that I could happen upon a predatory mite that would take care of the broad/cyclamen mites.
Well, I found out there is a species of predatory mite that will feed on the broad/cyclamen mites and the spider mite too. The name of this species of predatory mite is; Amblyseius californicus or Neoseiulus californicus. From what I can gather, these two names are for the same species of predatory mite.
Also, it seems that there are many sources for this predatory mite here in the US, plus I found a supplier for our Canadian growers too. I am going to post a few links, a couple are to the Association of Natural Biocontrol Producers, which provides a list of suppliers of predatory insects. And one link is to one of the companies that supplies the species of predatory mite for control of the broad/cyclamen mites. I am also going to post a list of companies (not links) that carry the N. californicus predatory mite. I have not had the time to look at every one of these company’s sites to compare their product prices and S&H charges to determine which one has the best deal, but it will give you a good head start in checking them out.
It is a little late for me to use the predatory mites this year, since that I have a few brugs that the critters have infested too much for the predatory mites. But they will surely be a part of my IPM program next year. The broad/cyclamen mites have infected my impatiens, begonias, a couple of bell peppers, and some brugs.
I hope that many of us will consider using these predatory mites to help with the mite problems we are experiencing. That way when the big guns like Forbid and Avid are needed the mites will not have become resistant to them.
USA Suppliers
EcoSolutions, Inc.
M & R Durango, Inc.
Koppert Biological Systems, Inc.
Syngenta Bioline, Inc.
IPM Laboratories
Sterling Insectary
Ricon – Vitova Insectaries, Inc.
(The above list of companies is probably not all that carry this predatory mite).
Canadian Suppliers
Natural Insect Control
http://www.anbp.org/members.htm
http://www.anbp.org/beneficial_californicus.htm
http://www.rinconvitova.com/bulletins_product_htm/Predatory_MitesBUL.htm
Edited: In the last link, in the Predator Mite Selection Chart. The species I am talking about is the fourth one down in the chart. It is the one that has Roses as the first plant in the list of Host Plants."
This is so very useful to me, and please accept my thanks.
I have isolated the plant from my other brugs, and will look into the purchasing resources you provided.
I hope the killing frost here might help, too.
Andrew