Print

[sporehead]

The voaconga has been happy for most of the time I've had it. Of course i only noticed the spider mites when the population exploded. I'm neeming with fresh solution after discovering that old solution is not effective. I have a few other pest issues that have gotten worse, namely aphids and other spider mite plants. I'm planning on growing pest repellent plants such as chive and garlic in my home to combat them. I don't think I'll have an issue reducing their numbers. Any other suggestions as to how to win this battle quickly are still welcome. I'll try them all, as i do when outbreaks happen.

I'm mainly posting this for advice on how to keep my voaconga alive after losing so many leaves. Will it continue to grow through adventitious dormant buds or is it all apical? I wouldn't mind forcing lower buds to leaf out but the plant has so few leaves that it wont have any left if it is topped. Hopefully someone has experienced based advice  about this. Thanks.

Pictures are a few hours apart. My friend bumped into the most affected leaves and they fell right off. Sorry for the sideways.

[Bach]

Does it live inside all the time? If so, that's most likely the root of your problem. Voacanga likes sunshine and fresh air. And lots of water.

If you can, take it outside and give it a stiff spraying with the hose and then leave it outside if your current weather allows. Spraying it every few days will drastically reduce the population of mites, thereby increasing the effectiveness of any chemical interventions.

[sporehead]

Its inside my grow room. 75+ degrees and about 40% rh with two windows open and a fan moving air. It's actually thrived for the the last few months after i got it. I also water it quite a bit and mist it at times. Outside weather is wet this week with nights in the 50s.

Is there a way to cut it back if i have to? Suppose the pests are dealt with but no leaves remain. What then?

[BubbleCat]

Mine are outside, the Hovenia next to it: Spidermite damage to the max, the Voacanga itself: Not a single one.
I,d too guess its a problem of being inside.

[Bach]

Mine take it easily into the 50's when fall sets in, and the bugs don't like it, so leaving it out should help.  I wouldn't want to trim it back, just keep it intact. Without leaves there is very little transpiration occurring so it is waaaay easy to overwater. Be very careful of that.

Evenly moist and good air circulation are the watchwords in this situation...

[sporehead]

Forgot to mention that it gets indirectish light. My grow room is pretty much full sun. Most of my plants live there. I guess i can put it outside for a little bit but maybe I'm missing something. Why should the plant have done so well in pretty much the same conditions for 6+ months and how is that related to this pest issue? I can understand it being isolated with no natural pest predators.

[kykeion]

I have found that some of my plants handle pests better when outside, even when indoor conditions are not much different (light, humidity, etc).  For example I have an oxalis (not sure what species, but it has small leaves and tiny fuchsia flowers) that seems to constantly be attacked by spider mites when indoors. It is kind of a cycle; happy healthy looking, then I start to notice mite damage, treat for mites, happy healthy new growth for a while, then mite flare up again.  This summer, after moving to a new house where conditions in the yard are less harsh I treated and brought the oxalis outside after I noticed mite activity.  The plant has been super happy since with no recurring activity. I'm sure mites are still there, and I will see them flare up once I bring the plant back in for the winter, but being out doors seems to allow it to fight off the problem better.  I have seen this with a number of my plants with chronic pest (spider mite, aphid, mealy bug) issues.  I suspect it is a combination of better air flow, more predators, and happier plants. 

3 Likes Bach, Ian Morris and BubbleCat like this.

[Bach]

A few summers ago I had a mite infestation outside that just would not go away and they were only after the Sally d's. I think it was just a cyclical population explosion because the last two summers were fine.

I'll second kykeion's comment about happy plants. It's the main thing that determines pest resistance.

And just so everyone knows I never use pesticides on my plants.  I mostly don't have to because I try to give them everything they need to be happy. When they are happy they can shake off most anything. And I don't worry about minor infestations.

[BubbleCat]

It appears my Voacanga (and one Iboga) has survived the recent spider mite colonisation and got rid of it. After my experience of the first plant dying from neem (and not getting rid of mites at th same time) I have tried a different approach:

I put a plastic cover around the stem over the pod so I can put it in the shower and hose it down violently to mechanically remove all spider mites without fearing water damage. I removed all leaves as soon as the damage to them is unaceptable (spider mite damaged leaves do not recover) as the leaves are home to the eggs. If it was still infected I would already have removed that yellow leave, its of no use anymore and the plant would even recover with no leaf.

I went even more agressive on the mites on the Iboga as I have good experiences with Iboga recovering from scratch. I simply removed all leaves so the stem is bare, wiped that down so all mites are removed or crushed ... and lastly I also stuck the stem in a vacuum cleaners inlet so vacuum off all remaining spidermites. It is already reshooting mew leaves and I am pleased to see it will grow wide now and not only maintaim its one central stem.

Both worked chemical free. The Voacangas treatment actually was very careful and gentle.

1 Like Frog Pajamas likes this.

[sporehead]

Thanks! I'll see what the poor guy is looking like when i get home. Ive been out of town for a week. Before I left, it was down to two little nub leaves at that point and is still outside, I believe. Hope it works! I hate them mites. Getting colder so everyone is coming inside, with their pests, I'm sure.

[LIBERTYNY]

I know alot of people hear are against anything not organic

 but

Admire Pro (Imidicloprid) , works magic against many insects for a fair amount of time

[BubbleCat]

Came across this, good reference for my similar problems:

http://www.comfycountrycreations.com/bugspray.htm

[Stonehenge]

My voacanga tree is outside, its a few years old, I forget exactly how old. I don't recall ever having a mite problem with it. I did have a mite problem on my kratom but daily spraying with safers soap did the job after a few weeks. I used the safers with no insecticide, just soap.

The v.a. seems to tolerate cold temps alright. We havent had a real freeze in a while, I think it may have died back a bit and then regrew. Its huge now, I have to prune it. It flowers now and then, set seed once but no seeds sprouted. Oh well.

2 Likes happyconcacti and plantlight like this.

[sporehead]

It lost all of its leaves and went dormant while it was outside for two months. I brought it in laat week and it's putting out leaves again. I've never seen leaves at some of the nodes but many are starting to develop. Multiple on some nodes. The mites are gone too.

[FewTrueSeed]

Can anyone confirm this as spidermite damage on my kratom and Psychotria? Leaves keep dropping off my poor kratom.