White Substance

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by mnunes86, Feb 28, 2009.

  1. mnunes86

    mnunes86 Member

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    Location:
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    hello,

    I seem to be having an issue with my palm tree, there is white substance on it & it seems to be killing my plant. I have a windmill palm tree 15lbs potted inside here in the Boston, Ma area. I noticed a while back that some of the fronds where it folds has a white fuzzy cotton little balls on them. I've posted on a different thread before where someone suggested to use pesticide & that should get rid of it, that was about a month ago & i've followed the instructions but it hasn't seem to have done any good. I have two fronds that are now dead & brown, & the new ones coming in are drying up & curling in. Can you let me know what the fuzz is & what else i can do to prevent it from dying.
    Thanks
     
  2. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Sounds like wooly aphids or snow scale - can you post us a pic? It will help us to ID the problem. If it's scale, then it's incredibly difficult to get rid of.
     
  3. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    white fuzzy cotton ball-like stuff sounds like mealy bugs. try q-tips dipped in rubbing alcohol and touch to the fluff - will kill them instantly. then, with fresh swabs, dip again and then rub all sides of the fronds and make sure to get in the crevices to kill any eggs that are there. treat again in 10 days or so (it's hard to get all the eggs the first go-round). and then treat again in another 10-14 if you still see signs of the bugs.

    any other plants that are in the vicinity should also be checked for infestation and treated if they have the bugs...if you don't see any, move the other plants to another spot until the palm is clean.
     
  4. mnunes86

    mnunes86 Member

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    here are some pics of my palm its a little blurry but you can see the white fuzz. Hope this helps.

    I'll try the alcohol method in the mean time.

    Thanks
     

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  5. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    i can't see anything on the first pic. i DO see the white spots on the second - and they definitely look like mealy bugs.

    make sure to get all up/down all sides of the fronds - and the crevises where they attach at the bottom.
     
  6. MajesticSC

    MajesticSC Member

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    Windmill Palms hate indoors ... after the white spots next will come brown ...Not sure where in the house u have them. but try to give them some outside time.
     
  7. mnunes86

    mnunes86 Member

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    Is it safe to put it outside in a 20-40 degree weather?
     
  8. MajesticSC

    MajesticSC Member

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    Windmills can survive very low temps. yours is kinda small. When there's days like today, and im sure you are warmer. Set it out under the porch.. keep this in mind anytime you keep plants, trees in the house never put them straight out in the sun. Go from the inside to part sun and about 2 weeks into the sun
     
  9. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    i don't think they'd freezing temps - you could bring it outside once the warm weather is firmly in place (when night temps don't go below 50) and leave it outside until cold temps starts in fall.

    as majestic said, ease the plant into the differing temp/light situation. i usually don't move plants in/out until the temps are the same in both spots (when the heat or a/c is not needed).
     

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