hello,

so my dracaena colorama has tiny white/yellow spots on a lot of its leaves - sometimes just a few and sometimes a whole grouping of them...from what i've read, this could mean spider mites. what to do? also, i'm afraid it's going to spread to my other plants...should i be? are schefflera's vulnerable to spider mites?

thanks!

slowjane

hello,

thanks for your response.

the leaves definitely have tons of tiny yellow spots....that look as though the chlorophyll is missing, not as though there is something on the leaf. i haven't found any actual mites - but it's tricky because the water is so hard here that the undersides of the leaves look dusty anyway because of water deposits.

i gave the dracaena a lukewarm shower and washed all the leaves today. even if that doesn't get rid of the mites, maybe it will get rid of some of the dust so i can tell if in fact does have mites....some of the leaves are starting to bend from it though, and i'm a little worried...

perhaps i'll try to take a picture and post it... would that help with the diagnosis?

in the meantime, the schefflera is now on the other side of the room. do you know if wandering jews or african violets are vulnerable? maybe i should move them too...

thanks again for your help,

slowjane.

http://f1.pg.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/meghannmccrory/lst?&.dir=/My+Photos&.src=bc&.view=l

here are some pictures of my dracaena. let me know if this doesn't work...

thanks!

slowjane

hello,

sorry the pictures weren't so clear...you may be right about the dracaena - but i still can't figure out where all these spots are coming from. i gave her a soap bath - but the soap got into the leaves where the spots had punctured them...and now those bits are turning brown.

so, this morning, i found mites on my ficus. and this time, i actually found webs and little black bugs - so small i couldn't tell what they looked like, but they squished so i'm sure they are bugs. and the leaves are spotted. so far it's only on a few of the branches. tempting to just trim those off but i guess that wouldn't solve it?

what was your method for getting rid of mites will? i'm suspicious of the dishsoap thing, but maybe i shouldn't be?

thanks!

slowjane

hi weezie!

as for the dracaena:

A. Soil - when i bought it a month or two ago, i repotted it with Scott's potting soil
B. What you feed it/or don't - i don't fertilize it, because the soil supposedly has fert in it at least for now
C. Where it is to a Window, Heater, Vents, Cold, Etc. - by a window but a white canvas curtain in between - the sun here in NM is harsh. east light. no vents. it's warm and dry here. in the 90's during the day (but not that hot in my apt.)
D. Watering practices??? - i water when the top inch or so is dry. plants dry out more quickly here so i check often.

as for the ficus -

A. Soil - what it came with from the nursery.
B. What you feed it/or don't - i fertilize it maybe every other week with regular miracle grow diluted.
C. Where it is to a Window, Heater, Vents, Cold, Etc. - it's downstairs in my apt where the window is small and doesn't open. no vents, stable temp in the 60's -70's. it's growing like mad so it seems really happy.
D. Watering practices??? - i water it when the top inch or so is dry. again, it's got loads of new growth (after it dropped all its leaves in a dramatic show upon entering its new home)

does that help? i know that mites like hot and dry - so NM couldn't be more perfect...nuts.


slowjane

hmm - i wonder what they could be. there were fine webs underneath the leaves...and the bugs i squished were about the size of a pen dot. but black. you're right i guess about the color - i've read about red ones and two-spotted ones, but not black ones. and there were little yellow spots...what in the world? is there another bug that sounds like that?

Jane,

Marginatas often secrete beads of sap. It is not an indication of a problem and not the same as honeydew.