I couldn't resist buying this beast (actually 2 plants) for $10. But, it was a hasty buy. A lot of what I believe to be pest damage on the leaves. What kind of pest, I am not sure? Also, the smaller plant is in a glass vase, no drainage, and soil! I bought this thinking I would keep it outside this summer (I am too nervous to do this with any of my other hoyas). But I do not know what do do…how to treat for suspected pests? What to do about the vase potted plant? Should I just take a bunch of cuttings and start fresh? The larger plant looks to be in a clear plastic 9" pot with perlite and leca. For now, they are quarantined in a basically unused bathroom in the house.
Please help me figure out the best strategy here! Honestly, at this point, my biggest concern is the pests. Don't want my other babies infected!
TIA!
by oceangetseaten
6 Comments
I can’t quite tell from the photo, but those potentially look like root mealies in the vase. Those are really challenging to get rid of so definitely take a closer look. If they are root mealies, I’d just take cuttings of that plant and start over considering how difficult it would be to get the roots out of the vase anyways. The leaf damage might be flat mites or thrips, I’d treat as such and quarantine for a while.
I would do a sulfur treatment but keep it in a shady spot so the leaves don’t burn. Did the prior owner tell you what their pest treatment was? If they used oil based products don’t use sulfur on it.
And I (personally) would get it out of the glass. Wash as much of the algae as possible off and spray hydrogen peroxide on the roots. Then spray them with water to rinse. Pot it up in your medium of choice. And still take a few insurance cuts.
Even if it has pest/root issues $10 is a steal. Congrats! 🎉
Before you do anything, keep it in a spot to quarantine for 2 weeks. Messing around with the roots after bringing it home is not a good idea 😭 I speak from unfortunate experiences 😭😭😭
Definitely the problem is it’s in a glass container. Has no air holes or no drainage whatsoever. That’s a disaster and will eventually kill the plant.
I actually think the damage on this looks more like it could be just watering issues which would make a lot of sense with the way it’s potted!
I know some have suggested NOT repotting right away but personally I’m always partial to immediately repotting new plants because otherwise you have no clue what kind of condition your roots are in and that will determine a lot of how best to proceed to ensure the plant fares as best as possible.
I would take it out of its current container, remove as much of the existing substrate, rinse the roots well just in case there IS some kind of pest issue. Put in fresh soil in a well draining pot, and preemptively treat for pests with something like spinosad (captain jack’s for example) or sulfur. Sulfur is nice because it will also help with any kind of bacterial or fungal issues.
If you’re putting this outside then DEFINITELY no spinosad because it’s bad for pollinators. If you’re using sulfur, it needs to stay inside or somewhere shady while it’s in treatment so it doesn’t burn. The pest prevention would be just a precaution because again, I have a feeling the damage on these leaves might just be edema just based on previous experiences I’ve had with Hoyas that got watered improperly. But better to cover all the bases I guess!
If you aren’t attached to the vase, put it in a bag and break it with a hammer. Carefully pull the plant out and separate from the glass and treat as normal. I’d wash as much dirt off at possible and treat for everything.