scale and new medium

[ericst11]

Originally Posted by quiltergal

No pics.

I would treat your affected plants with Bonide Systemic granules. I've been using it on a plant I received from a vendor covered in scale. Follow the directions and redose when recommended and you will not only get it under control but eliminated. I don't mess around with scale. It's just too hard to get rid of unless you bring out the big guns. Definitely isolate the infested plants from the rest of your collection.

what is bonide systemic granules and where do you get it and will it hurt my plants.

[Leisurely]

Terri, does the Bonide Systemic Granules that you use contain 2% Disulfoton? I hava a gallon container of this product that I bought at Ace Hdwe. for use on outdoor plants and I know that it really does work. It never occurred to me to use it on orchids. I occasionally get scale on a few plants and I have been spraying the Bayer product but it seems to keep coming back.

[Ross]

Scale is actually quite common with many orchids despite what was posted earlier. Phals especially are prone as are flower spikes of most orchids as well as the blossom petals. I just clipped a Phal triple spike due to scale. My attack is to squish every one I see. Then I spray with a "safe" spray such as Schultz brand "Garden Safe" Houseplant and Garden Insect spray. It comes in a teal colored spray bottle and is available at Home Depot for approx $5. You will need to follow up with this regime at least twice (two weeks apart) to be pretty clear. They will probably come back, so be alert.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I disagree about the commonality of scale attacking orchids. I've grown Phals outdoors and indoors (I only grew one Phalaenopsis hybrid outdoors successfully a while back), none of them had an outbreak of scale. I guarantee scale insects do exist here in the Los Angeles area. As do aphids, mealies, and other kinds of pest insects.

One common ground I've always found was, these insects almost always attack plants that were either weak, damaged, or severely stressed. Healthy plants usually don't get anything at all on any part of the plant.

Aphids are more of a common problem and like I said, strong healthy plants usually don't realize this epidemic at all.

An example is a Physothallis cylindrica I grow outdoors. When I first purchased it, the leaves and stems looked good. But there were only a few strong and healthy roots on it. I had a horrible time with aphids and mealies. Once I erradicated the pest insects which were making the plant worse off than it was to begin with. I started paying closer attention to it's health rather than focus on the pest insects. New roots sprouted. Rapid plant growth occurred. I made sure not only the leaves were healthy, but the roots were as well. Now, I don't have a problem with mealies and aphids with this plant.

Again, treat the cause not the symptom. Symptoms always come back. Treat the cause and the symptoms will go away until the cause of the problems arise again.

This is my philsophy. Try this out, you'll find a lot of the plants that are "commonly" available that are "easy to grow" will offer you new challenges you've never experienced before.

I believe that just because you've succeeded in growing one particular plant once, doesn't mean you can just put it away and stop taking awesome care of it or stop thinking of it like a used toy. There must be consistency and discipline involved.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

One common ground I've always found was, these insects almost always attack plants that were either weak, damaged, or severely stressed. Healthy plants usually don't get anything at all on any part of the plant.

I have rarely differed with you on responses, but trust me, very healthy orchids can be swamped with scale overnight. Here is an example of the one that I just cut the flower spike: This spike was totally covered with scale. There was no scale on the leaves, however. The plant is as healthy as any I have ever seen. I rarely differ with you, but I must differ this time. Scale will attack even the healthiest of plants (in my experience.) and is very tough to control. It is not restricted to weakened plants as you suggest. Sorry.

[susiep]

Wow! I have to agree with you Ross. Anybody that says scale is uncommon has never grown any kind of plants in South Florida. Scale is very common here and must be treated very aggressively. It does get on healthy plants. It loves tender new growth and though it won't kill the plant (initially), it can leave some very unsightly scars (pits, dents, discoloration) on the leaves (I'll post pics later). I have found it prefers the harder leaved plants (catts, slc). I have just been treating a plant that wasn't in bad shape, but got quickly infested with both mealies and scale. Really ticked me off! It is in quarrantine right now, but I think I've got it under control for now. As for scale, it gets on shubs, sago palms, and almost always on the new growth. I use systemic (Bayer) in the yard, but it sometimes makes plants turn yellow and drop leaves. So I haven't used it on orchids yet. However, I may experiment with this orchid. For orchids I just use Orthene spray. It kills really well and has never hurt my buds.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

??? Then, I guess it must be a different species of scale that's present in Florida that's much more aggressive than the ones in Los Angeles. Perhaps it's a species that orchids has no natural biochemical deterants or protection against.?

I did notice how the flies in the Caribbean are much more aggressive than the ones here in Los Angeles. Weird.

I bow down in grace, I have no answer to this problem.

[Gin]

Originally Posted by susiep

Wow! I have to agree with you Ross. Anybody that says scale is uncommon has never grown any kind of plants in South Florida. Scale is very common here and must be treated very aggressively. It does get on healthy plants. It loves tender new growth and though it won't kill the plant (initially), it can leave some very unsightly scars (pits, dents, discoloration) on the leaves (I'll post pics later). I have found it prefers the harder leaved plants (catts, slc).

I agree , It will attack both healthy and weak plants , the most aggressive scale I have done battle with was on plants from Fl. .. Boisduval while figuring out how to spell it ran across this site . Scale Insects on Orchids

[susiep]

Thanks, Gin! Good article. That must be the kind of scale we have here. Here are some pics of my recent bout with these critters. In every place that they were attached there is an indentation in the leaf, plus a change in the color in the surrounding area. I used a combo of alcohol, wiping, and orthene. You can see the dead scale in some of the pics. I am worried about eggs so I have been spraying with Orthene every 5-7 days hoping to break the cycle. So far not on any other plants. I hit them all with Orthene last week as a precaution. This probably happened because my orchid house is way overcrowded, we recently had a dramatic weather change and (mainly) I wasn't paying attention. My advice to Eric, hit the scale fast and hit it hard!

[Ross]

I noticed the scale really like my Encyclia tampensis the most (the leaves and spikes.) Rarely see it on anything other than a few Paphs, but the flower spikes and flowers of just about all the others appear to be fair game. Just my 2 cents.