Hi My plant is sick. It is 1 yr old gets plenty of sun and light but recently leaves are starting to fall off. After closer examination I noticed some white stuff on the branches. That it about 1 week ago. Not a good sign. I would love to know what to do with it. Thanks!
You have your self quite the mealy bug infestation. To solve this problem, get a spray bottle and mix water with either Rubbing alcohol ( 1 part alcohol,3 parts water), Horticulture oil, or a safe insecticial soap. srapy the entire plant once a week for 3-4 weeks to make sure all the bugs and eggs they may have layed are dead. Hope this helps you out.
definitely mealy bugs and definitely a severe infection. if you're going to spray the rubbing alcohol make sure to cover the soil with plastic so the r-a doesn't soak down and damage the roots. once sprayed, it'll dissipate within a few minutes and won't damage the plant material...will only cause damage if it lands somewhere (like soil) were it can soak down and not dry out. i'd be more likely to take paper towels and soak them with the rubbing alcohol and then apply to the branches and wipe the bugs away. then i'd get some q-tips; dip them in the alcohol and then get into all the crevises where the leaves meet the branches (to get any eggs that haven't hatched). whichever method you use, repeat treatment every 10 days or so until there are no more bugs evident. if you have any other plants near this one, take a look at them and treat if they are also infested.
