I have been using Marathon for 2 months, plus spraying with Neem oil & something from Garden's Alive that is suppossed to kill mealies if the spray contacts them. I think the life cycle is 4-5 days. I havent been on time with that, but I have been very careful to put on gloves & very careful to spray each entire surface or every plant. I take them outside on the deck to do it.
I have used Marathon twice already. If anything, the mealies are multiplying.
All my little starts were coming nicely & now I am losing plants again.
Is there anything that kills mealies? When you actually read the label, it says things like "controls" & "surpresses" mealies.
still have mealies!
Are they the leaf mealies, or the ones in the soil?
Sorry . . . don't have anything but questions . . .
Isn't there something that is supposed to be put into the soil?
What would happen if you replaced all the soil?
they are leaf mealies. On the stems.
I have replaced all the soil with a "soiless" mix of moss & perlite.
Clean new pots with wicks.
The Marathon goes into the soil and is supposed to kill everything that bites the plant.
you have to:
1. Repeat it in 5-6 weeks
2. Make sure you dont flush it out of the pot.
I have done that & replaced the Marathon in the pots i've flushed..
The wicked pots have catch trays so the Marathon is not lost.
Maybe I am not using enough per pot?
I wish there was someplace you could actually take your plants to be sure that they are being diagnosed properly. I just don't know how you could have mealies if you are using marathon. One dose of marathon (1/4 tsp) per pot should last several months.
Do you have a county extension agent who could examine your plants? I just tend to think something else is going on............Another product I have is called Admire Pro which you mix 1/2 tsp per gallon and water from the bottom or the top for mealies. This product lasts for 6 weeks.
I don't know why I have this gut feeling that maybe your mix is too heavy and your roots of your streps are simply not getting air and they are drowning. Another precaution I take is to put perlite in the bottom of each pot of a strep. This way when you water from the bottom those roots have access to lots of air and they dry out sooner.
*******just my two cents worth............Goldleaf is the master grower on here.
Let's look up leaf mealies under the streptocarpus site or Rob's Violet Barn and see what they say about leaf mealies as I have never had those.
http://www.streptocarpus-info.com/streppestsanddiseases.html
I hope you can find something here to help you, Kivit
i have a 1/2 inch of perlite in the bottom of each 2 1/2 in pot.
I can see the mealies. They are white and fuzzy & dont move much. the plants seem to be growing fine, then start wilting. Sure enough, there are white fuzzies on the stems & bases of the leaves. When I spray the wilting plant, it revives, but then the bugs return.
I am doing something wrong.
The county agent here wont know zip about houseplants. Grasses, grains & weeds, yes, but houseplants arent on their radar.
i will check out Rob's
Rob suggests Enstar & Marathon. Enstar is a drench. he says to submerge the entire plant. He also says to wash leaves in detergent, stick them & throw away the plant. That's unhappy.
Never heard of Enstar. Has anyone used it?
You need to find the source. Mealies sometimes attach eggs to the sides of your pots, trays and under benches, be sure to check there for them. It would be a good idea to scrub everything with hot soapy water with a little bleach. Ants also transport them--. A painstaking--but effective way to kill them is to dab a paint brush into rubbing alcohol and touch them with it, you can also dribble a little down into the crown of your streps, they may be hiding babies in there. Be sure to do this at night-- it can cause a phytotoxicity before it dries. Another method of control would be to drench your pots -let them stand in water 1" over the top of the pots for a few hours. I know there are insecticides that can be used in this manner. I would also try an alternate insecticide -- they may have developed a resistance to the ones you are using. Good luck-- and keep us informed!
I wanted to add there is a "lag time" with the marathon--it apparently takes time to get into the system in sufficient quantities to kill them immediately. I dosed a scented geranium 2 weeks ago and the mealies were still kicking (and procreating) 2 days ago-- so I sprayed them with insecticidal soap-- hasta la vista baby!
The second I see the white fuzzy 'stuff' I quickly grab a pair of scissors and cut off the white fuzzies....and immediately soak my scissors in alcohol. I am just trying to think of everything that can help.
When I worked in a greenhouse, we were each responsible for our own cutting tools and keeping them sterile. Several times a day I dipped them into alcohol and wiped with a clean paper towel real well.
Also.......I never have seen the white fuzzies unless the soil was too wet..........never have seen them on dry soil. (Am I wrong?)
doesn't matter whether soil is wet or dry--they are the scourge of cacti and succulent collections-- which are kept really dry-- altho stressed plants can be most likely to succumb to an infestation. But who is to say that the mealies are not causing the stress.
I don't grow cactus or succulents except for a close friend..........hoyas everywhere. I use Bayer's Advanced on them once a year.
Well I do kknow that rubbing alchol will get rid of them,but never enclose it as it will rot the plant quick,maybe rob is right,stick some fresh leaves and get rid of the entire bunch
wanna know what i did once a long time ago,I got some ladybugs and turned them loose
then i had a lady bug problem lolit cleared them right out though,was years ago,you just have to be careful,if they are real bad toss the plant and restart them,
just becareful and clean your infected plants then watch them,hey if you decide to toss them,let me know,ill send you new leaves if you want them
JIM
Hmmm! I think I have to wash the trays & racks! Used new pots but didnt wash the other stuff.
Gail, my streps are so dry I've killed a few of the smaller ones.
Thx everybody for the suggestions.
I DID eliminate the thrips because my plants arent forming seed pods any more.
Are thrips the only reason a seed pod would form (other than manual manipulation, I mean)?
no ,it can be caused by knocking the plants around or a breeze,granted its not real common,but i can be happen
JIM
Whew. I was going to say . . . there is a noid I have at work that is forming a pod or two, but I haven't seen any sign of thrips . . . no scattered pollen, etc.
if you can get me a picture of it,maybe i can help it not be a noid anymore(unless you grew it from seed
JIM
Plant sex is plant sex, ANY mechanism that moves pollen to the ovaries can result in seeds. Bees, moths, bats, ants, thrips, gnats and the list goes on --along with wind are all methods of moving pollen from point a to point b. Some species are self fertile and require little if any manipulation to set seeds. Someone better versed in gessies will have to answer your question more specifically--but what I am getting at-- is "don't panic yet"-'cos I'll have to panic too if thrips are the only reason...
No, didn't grow it from seed . . . I'll take the camera to work tomorrow . . .
I see Jim answered while I was slowly typing (and talking on the phone)--just the answer I was looking for;)
I have a lot of streps that pollinate themselves. Thus, I get a lot of seed pods and I don't think I have anything wrong (at this moment) anyway.
Ok! Well, I was told by an avid AV grower that if my streps are growing pods, i must have thrips. i have nEVER seen them. I just thought that was the reason. Dont see spilled pollen either. But, some of the blossomd have been deforemed & I dont see that any more. The bottom petal would get "stuck" and not unfurl, so I would manually unfold it. Had a lovely Hototogisu that always had deformed blossoms. I almost lost it when I used Bayer in a too strong concentration. That was the first plant I saw mealies on. Do they cause blossom damage too?
anyway, jim said to repot and flush out the Bayers, which I did. It was touch & go for a long time. The leaves turned a burned gray. The plant has revived and bloomed yesterday. No mealies. No deformities.
So, dont panic Gail! LOL!
I wonder if I can use Bayer's advanced for a drench. Has anyone used it to submerge their plants?
I have drowned them with Neem oil, spraying enough to run down into the crown base, spraying the underside of each leaf, spraying the mealies directly when I see them. It works because the plant revives, and then they come back-not necessarily on the same plant. So gran may be right. Have to consider the source. My other problem is that I am developing an allergy to Neem oil. Any place the spray drifts, like my face or the skin above the gloves breaks out in a painful rash.
I guess my plan of action is:
Wash all racks & trays with bleach
2 submerge each plant in Bayers
3 Take leaves from each variety, wash them in soapy water & stick them
4 If that doesnt work, toss
You can also turn the whole plant upside down, holding your hand over the dirt and swish the whole thing in soapy water. You can google the ratio soap/water so that it is effective. Be sure not to allow the plants sunlight indirect or otherwise until they dry thoroughly.
That soapy water wash and drench works on a lot of plants.
Another suggestion - diatomaceous earth.
diatomaceous earth?
how do I use that?
I have scads of it!
Off this topic question.
Who has good prices on trays/domes. Park Seeds is beginning to advertise.
Is there a better place to buy?
I understand that diatomaceous earth has sharp edges that cuts soft bodied critters when they crawl over it, causing dessication. I have never used it-- but do know that it shouldn't be inhaled. I saw that The Violet Showcase had trays and domes-- but don't know how their prices compare. http://violetshowcase.com/
kivit,
Here's a link with some information on diatomaceous earth. I can't find it locally (not even at the feed mill), so ordering is my only option.
http://www.ghorganics.com/DiatomaceousEarth.html
I found the following source for trays and domes. Prices are very reasonable. Positive feedback has been posted in Garden Watchdog for the company.
http://growerssolution.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?
I got some a few years ago,if you just want the basic one,now there is some that are thicker plastic and very sturdy,ive got a few of those too,id switch to them if i could find a good price on them
JIM
Hey Shirley-- try the pool dept at Lowes-- the sell the diatomaceous earth for pool filters
Thanks for that link, cicada. They seem to have decent prices. They didn't have individual prices per 1020 tray, so I placed 20 in the shopping cart. Still no prices, and no shipping. So, I figured I would "place an order", figuring they would let me know the total before I provided paypal or c.c. info. You know what? I never got to that page, got an email confirmation that my order will be shipped/processed within 48/72 hours . . . and still my total shows as $0.00! I can't imagine that any company would send out an order without payment first . . . what if someone puts in a bogus address (which I didn't!), just to see what would happen? I think I'll be calling their number tomorrow . . .
Kivit,
I had mealy's once but not on my streps... I lost almost all my hoya's.... If it were me?? I just got over thrips and trust me it was a big deal to me.... I started with Avid and took a bucket and filled it with two gallons of water and added the correct amount of Avid for that much water ... I then took the plant and turned it upside down and dunked the whole plant into the water.... Then after two weeks of Avid I then used Conserve as the gets into the plant and kills the thrips that are laid under the skin of the stem.... I am bug free now I am happy to say... If you are losing you plants anyway I would just dip the whole plant dirt and all underwater with some type of bug stuff in it.
That is just my 2 cents worth...
Hope you get them sooon...
Hugs,
Susan
Hey Tommie,
I've been reading up on the different grades of diatomateous earth. The type used in pools should not be used for insect control. Here are a couple of links that tell more about the grades and different uses for DE.
http://www.safe2use.com/safe-products/diatomaceous/diatomaceous_Earth.htm
http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html
Syrumani,
I hope your order comes through without any problems. For peace of mind I'd want to talk with someone, too, before sending payment information.
I'm just surprised they didn't ASK for payment information! But I received the email confirmation like I had paid . . . weird!
I had no idea that there were different grades of DE--never really thought about it--but it makes sense!! Good to know!!
DE is good stuff but once wet it does nothing...
Sue
for anyone who hasnt seen mealies.
