On the underside of my plumie leaves. I mean BRIGHT orange. What is this? And what gets rid of it?!
Thanks in advance! Anu
Bright Orange small bugs!
if you loook closely do they have black legs? if so, i think they are aphids. not hard to rid yourself of at all....
I agree...aphids if you are talking about bugs. I usually get those on my adeniums and oleanders. They are easy to hose off with a firm spray. That is, providing you are not seeing rust, which is a different sort of bright orange.
yeah they love those leanders!if they move slightly when you touch them, and you have guts on your fingers if you squeeze they are prolly aphids. if it just sits here when you touch it then it's prolly rust. if you're not sure, use neem oil.
good point about the possibility of rust, clare. i didn't think about that.
Yes, I'm afraid it is not a bug, but rust fungus. I'm treating now with a fungiside.
Thanks for your input! Anu
Anu, you may just want to remove all the leaves that are infested and bag them and throw them in the garbage. Rust is a fungus that spreads by spores in the wind. Then treat the remaining top leaves with Bayleton, a fungicide that is in most lawn fungus products.
clare, does neem help with rust??
Yes, I think so, but it is a natural fungicide and probably less potent than a manufactured fungicide like Bayleton. I don't get rust here in this dry climate so I've no experience with it, but humid places like Florida, Texas, and Thailand get their fair share of it.
add us to the list! we back up to a swamp and it is like walking into a wet blanket... but i love it!... except for the rust. the cannas were an eyesore for 3 months thanks to rust. i'm starting to get som spider mites. how can i get rid of them without putting them outside and spraying with neem and letting them dry in the garage?
Yeah, spider mites are sort of inevitable for inside plants. You can wipe the leaves down with a clean cloth with water or give them a firm spray with the outdoor sprayer and then bring them back in, but that may get them to be too wet for the winter unless you cover the lower portion of the plant with plastic. If you use Neem for spider mites, you have to do successive treatments as new eggs hatch. There are some other treatments for mites as well including Isotox, Horticultural Oil, Avid, and Forbid.
well i'll wipe the leaves, and just leave it until i put it back outside.... late february should be safe for it