First, I'm not sure what type of tree this is. I purchased it off of a man who came to my hotel selling trees for offices and lobbies. I have had the tree for about 6 months. About 1 month ago I started to notice little white piles of what looks like powder forming on the leaves of my tree. I have been cleaning each and every leaf with warm, mildly soapy water every week. Just tonight I noticed bugs crawling around in the soil. There are no bugs on the tree itself. The bugs are about 1/2 to 1 inch long. They kind of look like mini meal worms. Do I have 2 problems, Fungus and bugs or is one thing a result of the other? Please HELP!!! I have attached a picture of my tree. Could someone also please identify this tree for me?
It's hard to tell from the photo, but from the description it sounds like you may have powdery mildew and fungus gnat larvae. Both are often a result of excessively moist soils. Dracaena plants generally like to dry out some between waterings. If the problem persists you could use a copper based fungicide on the leaves and a Permethrin based insecticide as a soil drench. Try to solve the problem without pesticides though if possible. If this doesn't sound quite right maybe try posting some close-up shots of the powder and the worm-like creatures. --Hope this helps
Thank you so much for answering and identifying my tree for me. I will try to let it dry out. I will reattach a close up photo of the bugs and mildew also. Again, THANK YOU.
It could also be mealy bug, which would be more difficult to eradicate........close ups would help a lot.
I have 2 pictures to show. One is a shot of the white powdery substance on the leaves. The other is a shot of one bug. The bug shot is kind of fuzzy(best I could do) I haven't watered the tree in about 4 days. Today when I was taking the picture, none of the bugs were moving.
Hi kia&raiven'smommy, You do have mealy bugs on your Dracaena marginata aka dragon tree. If you don't have very many you could try dampening a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and wiping them off. You will have to keep at it. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/interiorscape/Dracaena_marginata.html Your plant also looks like the pot may be a bit small. Stressed plants are more prone to pest problems. Have you repotted it since you purchased it? Newt
That definatley is mealy bugs. When we find mealy bugs on our plants at the nursery I work at we throw them out because they are extremely tough to get rid of and spready really easily if proper sanitary precautions are not taken. It might save you a lot of work to dispose of the plant and just buy a new one. Don't bother wasting your money on pestcidies because (in my experience) they don't work against mealy bugs. -Eric
