Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Fulmar on February 23, 2009, 04:51:02 PM
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So I have a young Yellow Rose plant, approximately a foot tall. Originally it was a flower stem cutting that sprouted leaves when my wife and I kept it in a vase. I successfully transfered it to a pot w/ the help of some root hormone. It's approximately 6 months old or so. It's had its ups and downs, mainly cats...anyways, its fairly fragile.
For the last month I've been battling a spider mite infestation. They've pretty much stunted its growth for now and are causing leaves to drop during outbreaks. I've googled a bit and tried asking some relatives, but to no avail. I've tried chemical bug sprays and a 1:1 alcohol water mixture (both seem to kill the hatched bugs, but I cannot kill the eggs). Everything I've tried to google on the subject suggestions the two sprays I've tried or just merely rinse it with a hose. Well the plant is too small and too delicate to do such a thing. I've read that the mites thrive in dry warm spots, unfortunately, in my apartment in dry Wisconsin winters, non-cat accessible window space is at a premium. Plus, its gonna be at least 3 months before I can actually put it outside. I've attempted to increase the moisture to stem the population of the mites by placing a humidifier and a sauce/dish of water underneath the pot. This really hasn't done much.
I've read that there are certain oils you can place on the leaves that kills the eggs, but I've read that it can sometimes kill the plants as well. The rose plant means a lot too my wife since it was taken from the wreath at her grandfather's funeral. There was once two, but a cat got the better of the other one. Any help is greatly appreciated. Pics if needed.
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Around here we have farm & ranch stores, but in Madison, WI it might be hard to come by.
There are powders (we call 'em "dusters") that will handly most any anachronid and pest.
Putting any alcohol based product on plants is usually not a good idea, even at 1:1 or even 2:1. I think part of that advice is part old wives tale, but some folks swear by it.
Here's some stuff I found:
The first step toward getting rid of spider mites is to isolate the plants, but keep the infested plants clustered. Isolating your plants will reduce the risk of spider mite migration. Spider mites are quite adept at riding air currents to and from the plants they wish to feed on. Keeping your plants in clusters will help retain moisture by reducing airflow between the plants. Spider mites are not very keen on moist climates; they need the evaporative properties of an arid climate to reproduce more efficiently.
Retaining humidity and moisture is a good way to get rid of spider mites. This can be accomplished in several ways. If you’re tending potted plants, keeping your pots over a platter of water will help keep immediate moisture levels up. If you’re tending to garden plants, you may want to consider putting in peat moss to fill the gaps between plants. Of course, the best way to keep humidity and moisture levels high is to bring your plants indoors where they can be misted with very cold water on a regular basis (2-3 times a day). The same treatment can be done to outdoor plants with firm but careful sprayings to help drown the mites and remove them from the plants.
Keeping plants out of the late afternoon sun and/or arid weather is perhaps your best defense against spider mites. This may not be possible for those of us who cannot remove plants via pots, but any way to provide shade to damaged or weakened plants during the warmer hours of the day will help. For indoor plants, drawing the shades or moving plants out of direct sunlight should help dissuade spider mites from taking up permanent residency. You may also want to consider setting a humidifier next to any affected plants.
ROX
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I've read that same site. I know the alcohol mixture kills the mites because I've sat and watched the plant for a while. The alcohol dries quickly enough that it doesn't harm the plant.
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If the your worried about losing it, I would take some cuttings now in case you can't beat them. The more the better.
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I though spider mites was one of those bugs that Lady Bugs like to eat.
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Tried Sevin Dust? I don't know if it will affect the rose plant or not but it will knock those pests out :aok
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I would use a product called Tempo SC Ultra made by Bayer. It is a pyrethroid labled for use in hospitals and resturants, very safe. Has both contact and residual activity modes. When you apply it to an ornamental the trick is to get it "wet". I'd put one drop of dish detergent in a sprayer bottle so it doesn't ball up on the plant due to surface tension. It's about 40 bucks or so for approx. 8 ounces (240 ml) but that will last you for years. It could possibly be a restricted use pesticide depending on what state you live in though. It is labeled for clover mites which are a type of spider mite. It is also dandy for almost any other pesky arthropod you need to get rid of.
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(http://shhac.info/x/b/nuke_it_from_orbit.jpg)
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I though spider mites was one of those bugs that Lady Bugs like to eat.
You're thinking of aphids, which lady bugs eat up like a fat kid eats cake. They might go for spider mites, but I know that they specifically go for aphids.
@OP:
A picture of the plant and it's roses when in bloom would be helpful... in short, you don't even want to know how many various types and species of "yellow roses" exist in the world. But it doesn't really matter unless this is some uber-rare species (since a lot of roses like the same things), but since the plant is of emotional importance I would since it couldn't hurt... hey, I don't want to be the guy that told you to do something to kill it b/c it's some uber-rare asian hybrid or something.
Spider mites though eigh? Spider mites attack a variety of indoor and outdoor plants, so make sure you isolate the plant from any other infected plants or that you group all these infected plants together from the uninfected so you can try and quarantine them... honestly though if you have cats running around from one area to another this could be futile.
Dust that settles on the leaves encourages mites, hose off the plants or spray them down good with a water sprayer frequently, this will actually help keep the pest population down quite a bit. Increased humidity, having it sit in a pan of water are also helpful, but nowhere near as good as simply spraying it down real good once or twice a day (with one of the hand-held spray bottles is what I recommend... they also make great anti-cat artillery pieces).
Mites have many many natural predators. You can purchase lacewing larvae and several species of predatory mites that prey on specifically spider mites.
Mites can often be washed from foliage with water jets (I wouldn't spray it hard enough to cause damage to the plant though, especially if its in a weakened state) and this stuff called insecticidal soap is also effective on mites.
DO NOT MIX horticultural oil (which is effective on mites when sprayed onto the plant) with sulfur dust/powder (which is effective when dusted on the undersides of leaves), it's one or the other. Neem oil is a miticide that I've heard of before.
Personally I've found spraying the plants down with just water multiple times a day to quickly stem an outbreak, typically I'd use fresh cold water from the tap since mites hate cold n' wet. Make sure you spray the underside and top of the leaves good. Then when the population is down to a point where I think it's more manageable, I spray on some insecticidal soap, top and bottom of leaves... maybe three times a week if I know they're around, once every week or two if it's just for prevention.
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I think my granmother always gently rubbed the leaves and stems with a mild dishsoap and rinsed.
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I forgot the name of the garden guru ... he used to say lemony dish soap and water would kill any bug. Since I dont know the ratio it wont be much help though. Baker maybe?
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Will post pics tomorow.
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Jerry Baker the master gardener on perennial care:
Keep ’em bug- and thug-free with my Simple Soap-and-Oil Spray: 1 tbsp. of liquid dish soap, 1 cup of vegetable oil, and 1 cup of water. Mix the soap and oil together, and add 1-2 teaspoons of the mix to the water in a handheld sprayer. Shake to mix, then spray on plants to control aphid, whiteflies, and spider mites.
http://www.jerrybaker.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=83
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Do not use any chemical that will break down the natural waxy covering of the leaves. I don't have any roses in our garden but my mother does and she follows many of the suggestions found on this site. Some of the roses she has have been growing or regrown from cuttings of plants that she started over 25 years ago.
http://www.growquest.com/roses_and_spider_mites.htm
She used to get pissed at me if I ran over some of her newly rooted cuttings with the lawn mower that she had not staked yet.
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Jerry Baker the master gardener on perennial care:
Keep ’em bug- and thug-free with my Simple Soap-and-Oil Spray: 1 tbsp. of liquid dish soap, 1 cup of vegetable oil, and 1 cup of water. Mix the soap and oil together, and add 1-2 teaspoons of the mix to the water in a handheld sprayer. Shake to mix, then spray on plants to control aphid, whiteflies, and spider mites.
http://www.jerrybaker.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=83
this works - wife adds a cup of beer to it - I get to finish the beer
:)
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Put a couple of skoals chewing tobacco pouches in water overnite and add to Jerry Barkers mixture this will rid you of any type of plant eating insect.Works great on aphids,leafhoppers and spidermites.