Help me save the plants that came with our new house. Can’t add text, but the crotons have some pests on them. The previous owner passed away, and there were left here, but I can tell they loved plants. I want to try to save them if there’s still hope! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thnx!!
by limenitisarthemis
6 Comments
Crotons are pest magnets. I know many people love them, but my favorite nursery refuses to carry them because of their propensity to attract everything you don’t want.
that is definitely spider mites! spray the visible ones off with a hose or soak them for a half an hour to kill them and then use a neem oil, castille soap solution to spray/wipe the plant down. if all else fails, beneficial predators are available to buy online if that’s in your budget and have been helpful for me in dealing with these little bastards!!
I’m sure others can add better advice but first off I would take them outside and tilt them over (to avoid more things going into the soil) and give a good spray. Then identify the pest and move forward accordingly. You may need a soil change. I use neem spray for most pest problems. I use Captain Jack’s ready to use spray. If you’re going to need many treatments opt for the cold pressed neem concentrate (same brand) and measure according to your needs and refill the bottle.
Hose these off immediately, separate from your other plants, change the soil, and treat every 3 days or so with an insecticidal spray. Every single leaf. Every one, top and bottom, spray them down and wipe them clean.
Spidermites are the worst pest in my opinion, because pesticides don’t kill them. I just finished (I think) battling thrips with my petra croton. Only reason I was able to help it was because systemic pesticide kills thrips. I’m still battling spidermites on my calathea, I don’t see evidence of pests anymore but the plant still isn’t improving…..good luck
I go with the drowning technique. First spray off all visable. Then fill a large container with water and soak the plant for 2 hours. It’s said that spidermites can survive for an hour. Just wrap the pot with plastic wrap
Then I would treat with neeam oil one every 3 days for a couple of weeks.
Take those back outside immediately and hose them down all over. Then spray them with an insecticide and then with Neem oil. Treat the soil with systemic granules too.