I was about to water my Hoya and I find this white stuff in the soil, are these root mealies? Please if you have any experience with this I’d really appreciate it!!
There are a bunch of posts on this sub with methods to get rid of em. I’ve tried them, with some success, but ultimately they are very pernicious. Systemic granules don’t seem as effective on them as above-ground mealies or other pests, which I’ve heard is because the roots can’t take up the pesticide effectively due to damage. It’s possible there’s a more effective pesticide that one could use on them that doesn’t require root uptake, but I don’t think most of the common ones available to consumers will do it.
A few months ago, I asked a local seller (who’s an avid and experienced hoya grower) how she deals with root mealies, and she told me she just chops and reroots. Which, absent better pesticides or some predators that you probably don’t want in your house, is the most surefire way to get rid of them.
MasterpieceMinimum42
If you see white powdery stuffs, yes, they are roots mealies. My kerrii had that issue before, she even threw tantrum because I changed her soil.
Glitterous82
Do you see bugs? Because just because you see white fluff, it’s not always mealies. Sometimes it’s a beneficial fungus.
MasterpieceMinimum42
If you see white powdery stuffs, yes, they are roots mealies. My kerrii had that issue before, she even threw tantrum because I changed her soil. You can try systemic pesticide if you can get. If you like to keep your soil dry (your soil looks pretty dry), you can sprinkle an inch or 2 of de powder on top of the soil as top dressing and also de powder around the pebble tray if you use pebble tray. And right now, you definitely need to repot it to a clean soil, and check the roots as well.
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Ugh. Sorry. It definitely looks like em.
There are a bunch of posts on this sub with methods to get rid of em. I’ve tried them, with some success, but ultimately they are very pernicious. Systemic granules don’t seem as effective on them as above-ground mealies or other pests, which I’ve heard is because the roots can’t take up the pesticide effectively due to damage. It’s possible there’s a more effective pesticide that one could use on them that doesn’t require root uptake, but I don’t think most of the common ones available to consumers will do it.
A few months ago, I asked a local seller (who’s an avid and experienced hoya grower) how she deals with root mealies, and she told me she just chops and reroots. Which, absent better pesticides or some predators that you probably don’t want in your house, is the most surefire way to get rid of them.
If you see white powdery stuffs, yes, they are roots mealies. My kerrii had that issue before, she even threw tantrum because I changed her soil.
Do you see bugs? Because just because you see white fluff, it’s not always mealies. Sometimes it’s a beneficial fungus.
If you see white powdery stuffs, yes, they are roots mealies. My kerrii had that issue before, she even threw tantrum because I changed her soil. You can try systemic pesticide if you can get. If you like to keep your soil dry (your soil looks pretty dry), you can sprinkle an inch or 2 of de powder on top of the soil as top dressing and also de powder around the pebble tray if you use pebble tray. And right now, you definitely need to repot it to a clean soil, and check the roots as well.
https://preview.redd.it/vq9p30e7kn4g1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e2c92eff9d5a36be376639f0e60f25a15a0c200
This is her currently