The body of mealybugs are covered by white, cottony wax that resembles cornmeal. Female mealybugs are active and often found along the veins of the undersides of leaves. Males typically fly and have only two wings.
Obsecure mealybug
Environment – Plants grown indoors or in greenhouses are more vulnerable due to the year-round mild temperatures favouring mealybugs. There are also fewer natural predators of mealies versus outdoors.
Life Cycle – Mealybugs can lay up to 600 small, yellow eggs in a protective cottony mass. The amount of eggs is dependent on temperature; the higher the temperature, the fewer the eggs. Long tailed mealybugs do not lay eggs but bear living young similar to alphids. Female mealybugs will die 5-10 days after laying eggs. Immature males (nymphs) will settle and spin a white, waxy cocoon. Adult males have tiny wings and will only live for a few days. It takes one to three months for one generation to develop (depending on temperature).
Symptoms and Effects – Mealybugs feed on the stem tips and where the leaf meets the stem. Stunted growth, chlorosis (yellow leaf tissues), defoliation (wide spread loss of leaves) and wilting are all symptoms of mealies. Mealies feed on sugary plant juice (phytosynthates) and their waste contains high sugar content (honeydew).
Root mealybugs live below ground and feed on the roots of the plants. They are thin and have a uniform waxy coating and lack the terminal wax filament found on common mealies. They are slightly larger than fungus gnats. The only way to really tell if your plants are infested with root mealies is from the declining health of your plant. Once it reaches that point, it is recommended to remove the plant from the pot or lift the bottom leaves of the succulent and observe the whiteish mealybugs on the base of the stem. They are difficult to control however, here are some preventative measures you can take:
use clean pots and media
if you don’t have a new pot, wash the existing pot with soap and hot water
5. do not allow water from infested areas to drain into clean areas as crawlers can be transported in water
E. Chihuahuaensis is about 3 years old and looks kind of beat up. No real signs of infestation and been outside since the spring. However, after a more careful examination of the roots and stem...
This succulent has been unpotted, treated with rubbing alcohol spray, soil discarded, isolate and still left outside.
Management – It is extremely difficult to completely get rid of mealybugs. If the infection is widespread, it is best to discard the infected and surrounding plants. Make sure the surrounding surface is washed and cleaned as well. Here are some tips:
Comments or suggestions? We would love to hear about your thoughts and get your feedback.
Hope this was helpful.
]]>Have you looked at your succulent or house plants and noticed some black/white spots on them? Diseases and pests will develop when plants are overwatered, or underwater, along with the lack of air flow. When they are highly stressed, they are unable to protect themselves allowing for disease to develop. There are many different types of fungus that can attack your plants' foliage, causing damage or sometimes killing the plant if left untreated. The most common fungal issues that I find many plant collectors and hobbyists often deal with are black fungus and powdery mildew. It can often be frustrating and heart breaking to have your favourite plant(s)/succulent(s) infected and eventually die. Let’s dive deeper on the causes and some remedies to treat them.
Powdery mildew is pretty easy to identify. It is a white or grey powdery film on a plant’s leaves and/or stem. This particular fungus thrives in warm, humid environments and overwinters in the soil. It is important that the substrate is well drained to ensure the soil does not stay wet for too long or when water does not stay on the leaves for a long period of time. Powdery mildew will start off as white spots on leaves or stems. As the infection spreads, the spots with turn yellow-burn and eventually black. As the plant continues to grow its leaves, they will be distorted and eventually wilt and die off.
(E. Torres) ( E. Fire Pillar) - left outside
I often read post on social media asking if rain water is really that good for their plants and if there is a difference. Before I was able to collect rainwater for my plants, I didn't know what I was missing. Now that I have experienced it, it really hard to go back. There really isn't anything better than rainwater. Let's look at some of the benefits.
It is significantly less harsh than tap water.If you collect rainwater in any sort of container (like a bucket), the rainwater will have traces of organic materials. Though rainwater is clean (and should run clear), when it ends up in your container(s), it has already been exposed to materials found on rooftops such as leaf litter, pollen and/or bird droppings, which is great for your plants. These are all beneficial to plants which has a similar effect to you lightly fertilizing your plants.
Rainwater is more acidic.
Rainwater is naturally more acidic. Plants often prefer soil pH level to be between 5.5 and 6.5 (pH 7 is neutral); which is exactly the pH range of rainwater. Tap water is more alkaline in order to prevent pipes from corroding and can have a pH level of 8.5 and upwards. Why is pH level important? It helps determine what nutrients are available to your plants.
Plants need nitrates in order to thrive, which is found in nitrogen. Nitrogen helps in the development of foliage. Nitrates is a combination of nitrogen and oxygen molecules.
Once you give your plants a good drink of rainwater, you will notice that the leaves will have a nice shine to them compared to those that are grown indoors and only receive tap water.
Below are before and after images of succulents that were left outdoors and watered with rain water.
Though the "stress colours" may be gone or faded, the overall health of the plant has improved dramatically.
]]>Newly imported succulents are required to have all organic matter removed which often means they will be rootless. Sometimes there will be roots, but often those roots have dried up and will need to rerooted.
There are a few options and you will decide which of the method is best suited for your comfort level.
1) Air propagation is a method I personally prefer. It often means putting your succulent some place propped up without any growing medium. This method is great as it allows you to see if roots are forming and thus minimize the risk of rot. Roots that are formed this way tends to be thicker, ranging from brighter pink to pale pink.
It is normal for the outer leaves to be consumed during shipping or when your succulent is trying to reroot. The best thing to do is leave it alone and let it fall off naturally. Full disclosure: it's so satisfying to remove them.
2) Growing medium is the most popular method. After receiving your succulents, just place your succulent on top of growing medium of your choice. (we will discuss the different mixture another time). It can be planted in the medium if there is a stem that is required to keep it supported. It is very important not to water your succulent until roots have formed. If you water your succulent before roots are form, there is an increase risks of stem rot. After about 2 weeks, you can lift it up and check for roots. Sometimes if you tug a little and if it gives, that means roots have not fully formed and watering should be held. Giving it some moisture can help promote root growth; it should be kept to a minimal.
3) Water therapy is a method use for succulents that are very dehydrated from travel or after a long period of time with no root growth. it is important that the stem is hovering over the water and is barley touching it. Dry roots can be in water but the stem itself should not be, as that can lead to stem rot. The roots that are formed from water therapy will die when planted in growing medium. But this method is great to help provide some nutrient, strength to an already stress succulent. The rooting process in growing medium will be more successful.
For each method, it will take approximately one to two weeks for roots to form.
Hope this was helpful.
Please leave us a comment or suggestions of topics you would like us to discuss next time.
If you like you can also email us if you have any questions or require farther assistance.