Few problems, help?
Dabble
Posts: 4
Hi there, fairly new to the gardening community, just signed up for the forums, and figured I'd try to get some of the more experienced gardeners' help.
First up, my Gerberas, Fairy Geranium, and my Kalachoe are being eaten by Spider mites. I can't seem to get rid of them, any suggestions?
Next up, White flies... they're plaguing my Petunias, and Okra, again any suggestions would be appreciated.
3rd problem, My Nasturtiums and Zinnias leaves keep dying. The Zinnias' leaves are just turning brown and crunchy. The Nasturtiums' leaves are turning yellow and they do so before they get very big at all. Both plants seem to be fine, no bugs, not over watering, or under watering(as far as I can tell), enough/not too much sun exposure. I'm just miffed and confused.
Any help anyone could give me would be appreciated.
Posts
Oh dear - you are having problems, aren't you?
Whitefly are certainly deterred by Tagetes (French marigolds) in the greenhouse but I don't know how much good they'd do in the great outdoors. You could try, but make sure you have a variety with smelly foliage - some of the cultivars have this bred out of them as it also deters potential purchasers. Or you could try spraying with (I'm assuming you don't want to use poisons) a solution of soft-soap or detergent.
It's already a good year for whitefly - I have them all over my compost heap - as the mild winter didn't kill them off.
Can't help with the others I'm afraid. It won't help you to report that I can't stop nasturtiums growing!
Oh - and welcome to the madhouse btw!
Hi Dabble and welcome!
The only sure cure for spider mite is to use another mite which is a predator and called Phytoseilus. Assuming your plants are on the balconies you mention in your profile, the problem is you need to wait until it's about 20C or the Phytoseilus will die. You can get a small measure of control first by regularly spraying the plants with a fine spray of water and I've found a more effective control is to spray with water mixed with 'SB plant invigorator' which you use every few days until the temperature rises enough for the predators mites to be used. SB sort of glues them in place and isn't a chemical pesticide, most of which are pretty useless because spider mites have become immune to them.
Hi Dabble. Where do you have your nasturtiums? Are they in pots or trays or in the ground? If they're in pots they may just need potting on into a bigger one. Could be the same for the Zinnias - not sure as I don't grow those. They may have exhausted the compost they're in and are just needing more sustenance. If they're in the ground it may be a soil problem of some kind, so any extra info you can give will be helpful.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@ Steve 309: I've been spraying them with a solution of garlic oil, water, and dish soap, it helps but they come back, guess I may be stuck just doing this every few days.
@ BobTheGardener: I live in a spot where it's already about 40C out so I think they'd survive, now all I have to do is locate some of them. I've been spraying them with the same mix as for the white flies, but again they come back so I'm looking for a more permanent solution.
@ Fairygirl: I have them in planters, I thought maybe they needed to be transplanted, but now I'm thinking they may just be over watered, my fiancé pretty much killed 3 of them because of over watering. I'm gonna see about cutting back the frequency of their waterings and if that doesn't help then I'll do a transplant.
Thank you all so much for your help!
Overwatering is one of the main reasons for plants dying, but if there are roots showing at the bottom of the containers you have the plants in - it means they're ready to move on to something bigger. For instance a young plant a few inches in size and filling a 3" pot will need potting on to a 5/6" one so that it can grow on, or put into a big pot - say 12/15" - with half a dozen others to create a single display - it depends on how you want to use them.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
They are/were in a large planter that looks like a hanging basket without the hanger and a clear container, where the roots did not reach the bottom. I do believe it is over watering though because the one container I KNOW got over watered, thanks to my fiancé who was attempting to help when I was out of town for a couple days. On those, all the leaves died and I had to cut them at the base, above the roots and place them in a vase in hopes of them rooting(yes they root very easily, I have about a dozen nasturtiums now, half are from cuttings).
Ah - at least you've got the answer.
You need a new under gardener Dabble
Good luck with them from now on!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Maybe spray the whitefly a couple of times then go over them by hand and squash any that remain. Try marigolds. (The plants, I mean, not the rubber gloves...although if you dont fancy squashing them with your bare hands....)
@Fairygirl: Indeed, it's good to know what's going on, and yes a new under gardener, one without a black thumb, would be nice. He loves the plants too though so I kinda have to let him help. Thank you!
@Steve 309: When I spray they all disappear for several days. I also just bought some marigold seeds and have started them, so they'll be out there next to my poor okra and petunias as soon as they're transplant sized.