is this normal or contageou s disease

Any idea what this is all over he leaves of a hibiscus I left in a sunny window in a cool room over the winter? I now want to put some seedlingsin that wondow but I am afraid this is some kind of contageous disease

Hybrid hibiscus are prone to this --forget the name, but have had it happen.

First, get that thing isolated. Tonight.

Tomorrow, take it out to someplace like the middle of your lawn, or the curb of your street and hose it off vigorously --have no mercy, and don't worry about losing leaves. get underneath the leaves by laying the plant down an spraying "up". Also, scrape the top layer of soil off and discard, replace with fresh.

Let it dry, then spray with a sytemic, like orthene. Soak the scraped soil. Keep isolated, but in sun. Spray again in a couple days. The plant should make it, if you keep it watered --watch it closely and don't let it get so far gone next time.

That advice is correct - you have Whiteflies. A good product to use, after hosing it off, is Bayer Advanced 3 in 1.

Good luck!!

Thanks for your help on this. The specs do not appear to move so i wasn't sure wht to make of this. Your help is MUCH appreciated.

Since the specks don't move I suspect a scale insect. Whatever it is however, it is a really bad infestation and definitely contagious. You could take a leaf to your local extension office for a positive ID if you wanted a specific diagnosis.

Jplunket gave you good information about cleaning it up but I am not sure about using Orthene on a houseplant (remember, this plant is in MN.) If you clean up the soil as directed there are horticultural oils that you could use indoors; they work by smothering the insects. Frankly, since you have other plants in the house I would consider having a memorial service for that one.

I missed the fact it has been indoors with other plants --doh!

You should take them outdoors, one by one if the weather is cold, and hit all of them with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, as ardesia says. MUST GET UNDER ALL THE LEAVES with these sprays, unlike Orthene (which really stinks, so not great for indoor plants). Therefore, your spraying technique should be 1. wet down the surface soil with spray (kills bugs and also keeps dirt in place for second step) , 2. gently lay the potted plants on their sides and spray "up" from the roots (i.e sideways since they're on their sides), rolling the pots to make sure you get to the bottom of all the leaves, 3. stand 'em up and spray down onto the top of all leaves, then 4. if possible, leave outside in the warmth so the spray solution dries on all surfaces. If it's not warm enough, bring them back inside, put on newspapers or drop cloths, since the drips make a mess and can stain --otherwise, back in once dry, give them some mild fertilizer, water lightly/frequently (not too much) and keep an eye on 'em. Repeat process if necessary.

Those look like the dry skins of aphids after they have molted, something they do about 4 times on the way to becoming adults. If they don't move, they aren't white flies. A gentle shake of the stem will send a cloud of whiteflies swarming around the plant. There are some white scales that go for hibiscus but they are found mostly on the woody stems and these look to be on the surface of the leaves mostly. This is typical for aphid skins although this plant sure has a lot of them. Check to be sure ants aren't bringing them onto plants in that spot. (Another photo of aphid skins from a univ web site is below)

It's amazing how fast a host of aphids can show up on a plant. Sometimes ants bring them, sometimes they hatch out after overwintering as eggs somewhere on the plant or in plant debris under the plant. In any case a thorough cleaning with water as others have recommended is a good idea, and the Bayer products that contain imidacloprid are great at controlling aphids if you get tired of spraying soap and oil products repeatedly. Surprisingly, aphids are persistent and can be hard to get rid of without using a systemic product. The good news is that this is not a disease and there is no reason not to use that spot if the light and other conditions there are good.

Charles

Also, remember that most tiny critters like whiteflies have eggs which are impervious to most of these chemicals, so a follow-up treatment is recommended to catch whatever hatches later before it grows up. Systemics will definitely help with this, though, if you go that route.

I have this plant, because I got about four seeds free.They called it "fantasia", and I know nothing else.It has some kind of infestation on the leaves, and I need to know what to do.I like the plant, since it flowered.Sorry to rob your thread, but thaught it was kinda on the subject..Mike

looks like a hollyhock. Try a good systemic.

I can't argue wheather it looks like a hollyhoch, but the seed didn't look like it, and the party that sent me some Tx star red seed, sent these as a bonus.The problem does look like hollhoch rust, but I really can't believe it.The plant is in its third year.The sender called the seeds "Fantasia", and said it was a hibiscus.Thanks Mike

Looks a lot more like a hollyhock than a hibiscus to me. Here are the two hibiscus in PF that are called 'Fantasia', neither one of them is your plant. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=hibiscus&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=fantasia&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search

Sorry folks, I had no idea what I had, but it sure isn't either of the "Fantasias" in plant files.My only explanation would be squrells digging in seed shelves, and mixing, as well as loosing seeds.Sorry to have put anyone out.Mike

No need to apologize--how were you supposed to know the plant wasn't what the person who gave it to you said it was! At least now you know what your plant is and that it's got rust...unfortunately the best solution to hollyhock rust is to buy hollyhocks that aren't susceptible to it. There are fungicides you can spray but I think they work best if you spray before the problem starts. The good news is it's not fatal, just ugly!

Hi ecrane, glad to see you here. I just planted my beautiful, healthy Hibiscus in my new bed and this is what happened to them in two days. What is wrong. They are planted in a combo of top soil, river silt, sand and Miracle Gro garden soil. That's what I use in all of my beds and I've never lost a plant. Normally, they take off like wildfire. I just don't know what happened to these two. The third one I planted in the same bed at the same time looks good.

This is my double pink

this is my single dark pink one

And this is the yellow one that seems fine.

This is a pic of the double pink while still in the pot last week

Looks like they're starved for water...or overwatered --odd that it could be either extreme, but I see two possibilities.

The first could possibly have been caused by damage to main roots in transplanting. I have bought vigorous looking plants that had terribly fragile root structure hidden in soil mix --roots such that a relatively minor twist while transplanting snapped a piece that provided the plant most of its water supply.

Possible also that it had some lesser shock in transplantation, from which it will recover if kept lightly moist and fed, preferably shielded from heavy direct sunlight it seems to get now.

The second --overwatered-- is a possibility based on your garden soil being a bit heavy for hibiscus and/or your planting location not "perking" --percolating, which means allowing water to move away from the plant after a good drench.

While hibiscus are generally quite adaptable to overdry or overwet, and probably went into the soil with some good mix from the pot, it's possible that you put put the plant inadvertently down into a subsurface "bucket" of less permeable surrounding soil. This would catch and hold water, keeping the root system flooded and unable to take up oxygen (which generally can't enter through water). If you covered the original mix with your garden soil, it's possible you'r'e seeing a dry surface, even though your plant has a saturated root ball below the drier garden soil layer.

A dilute mix of hydrogen peroxide adds a type of available oxygen molecules the plant CAN take up through water --if you think the second problem prevails, scrape off the soil surface until you see the original mix, check its wetness. If it's saturated, pour in a half cup of half/half water / hydrogen peroxide, to buy a little time for getting the root bal drainage fixed.

I am overthinking, and may be way off base, but perhaps this leads you to a proper solution as you ponder the facts and conditions in front of you.

In any case, I'd suggest you try lightening up your soil, even one little area at a time, by adding either perlite or vermiculite (1/2 of the addition) with a blend of peat moss and pine fines, maybe some composted manure. Optional, some moisture crystals, and a dose of Osmocote, or other time release food. I think you will be amazed at the positive difference tilling that into your bed 9-12" deep makes.

Good luck!

This message was edited Jun 7, 2008 6:17 PM

This message was edited Jun 7, 2008 6:18 PM

Thankyou so much J. I did indeed loosen the roots. I haven't planted hibiscus before and didn't know until I started reading the different articles in this forum that I wasn't supposed to disturb the roots. I will do what you said with the soil. If I loosened the roots, do you think it will recover?

It's worth a try. THey're nice plants, so you might try taking a few cuttings and getting those to root, just in case the whole platns don't make it. Cut a few pieces from the plant, each about 12" long. the pieces can have some minor branching. Scrape the bottom 3-4 inches of the cut ends gently, with a kitchen knife or a pair of scissors, until you see some of the light green layer showing through. Then dust them with roottone or hormonex --rooting hormone powder. PLant the dusted cuttings gently in a very light mix, one per pot, keep them warm, moist and in bright but not direct sun. In a couple weeks, they will have started sending out roots into the soil --if not leave them a while longer, have patience. When they have rooted well enough to hold the soil in the small pots together, transplant into a larger pot, or into a well prepared hole in the ground. They grow pretty fast if you keep them fed and watered.

Thankyou so very much J. And thankyou for taking the time to tell me how to root cuttings. I sure hope my pretty plants come back.