There's been a swarm of fruit flies about my five gallon aquarium, beside which rests my nice coffee plant and my pods of seedlings. The seedlings seem save from the fruit flies but I worry the coffee plant may suffer from the fruit flies. I moved the coffee plant away, next to the winow (he'll at least get more sun there) although I am worried about draft, as it IS winter here in Alberta. Will he be okay? I dont feel any draft when i'm home save the slight warm air from the heat vent in the roof (not directly overhead.). Will he be okay in the window? Should I worry about the fruit flies eating him? I cannot use bug sprays because of my fish tank and my parrots being in the room, and it would be difficult to move them out even for a short time. Would fruit flies be attracted to pest strips?
Yes the flies would be attracted to baited pest strips as far as the plant should be fine just turn it on a regular schedule for equal light on each side. I usually turn mine everyday or every other day.
okay. Right now the poor guy gets only a few hours of morning sunshine every day (The window is under our balcony and its' winter, so it gets up usually late int he day). as soon as payday rolls around I'll get some sort of sun-lamp in the room (The birds and fish may benefit from it too). I think i have pest strips somewhere too. I hate not being able to eat at the computer.
Hi Horsetuna, I'm wondering if you have fungal gnats. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r280300811.html Newt
I may, although I think they are actual fruit flies, as we've had them before and they are leaving the plants alone - they usually swarm around food or the fish tank. luckily the fly tape seems to be working.
We had the same problem -- I suspect fruit fly eggs rode in on our Christmas Tree and hatched in the nice warm (and comparatively humid) environment of our home. They were *everywhere* and seemed to multiply exponentially. We finally got rid of them by placing one glass of red wine tightly covered w/ plastic wrap (w/ 3 or 4 holes poked in it) upstairs in the kitchen and another one downstairs in the bathroom. They really seemed to like our bathroom sink for some reason! They are little winos and cannot resist the enticing fumes of the wine -- they find their way into the wine glass and then cannot get out and usually drown taking a bath in the wine. Within a week or two they were gone. You may want to refresh the red wine every 4 or 5 days or so -- you'll notice dozens of the little buggers in there. Also -- if you like Tobasco sauce and keep a bottle out in the open, try putting it in the refrigerator until the fruit flies are completely gone. They LOVE Tobasco sauce!
Hmmm...your coffee plant is dying? :-( There' s a wealth of information about things that will help a coffee shrub to grow well here...maybe something in there will give you a clue about what might be wrong? http://www.thegardenhelper.com/coffee.html Do you have a grow light? Maybe it's not getting enough full-spectrum sunlight? What are the symptoms?
Wikipedia also had this to say about problems that can arise when growing coffee beans: * Pests on the bushes (e.g., in Hawaii, scale insects and coconut mealy bugs -- I trust those aren't a problem in Alberta... LOL!) * Poor pruning regimes (e.g., too many verticals that allow the bush to attempt too much and so produce inferior cherries) * Poor fertiliser regimes (e.g., too little iron or insufficient nutriment for what are demanding plants) Maybe the soil needs a boost? I've heard of people sticking iron or steel nails in plant soil (blue hydrangeas in particular) to improve them in some way or another. With the hydrangeas, it apparently deepens the blue color.
Its rather dry in my room. A friend mentioned how they like humidity, so I may start misting him lately. I started with a coffee BUSH, now I have three stalks. Its odd, as before the leaves just curled upa nd dried out. No yellowing. Some are now yelllowing though and some leaves are drooping. He was ina plastic pot with no drainage at first, but I have him in a nice terra cotta one with an inch of fish gravel at the bottom for drainage. I had a moisture reader but it's not working so I tossed it, and I try to guess via the 'moist' feeling on the side of the pot and sticking a finger into the dirt. I did have a lamp for him, but it mysteriously burned out. I am tkaing it back tomorrow. I had it aimed at the wall/ceiling behind the guy so he wasn't in direct. He doesnt get much real sunlight though as its' a basement suite.
Junglekeeper brings out a good point and a great link. I'm wondering if you inspected the roots when you repotted to see if any had rotted from too moist a soil. I don't use anything in the bottom of the pot for drainage other then the holes. I mix in perlite to keep the potting medium free draining. Then I watch for standing water in the saucer. I empty the saucer after a few minutes. Newt
Withering Coffee Plant Hmmm...basement unit in Alberta. Putting myself in a coffee shrub's shoes for a moment, I'd wager your Mr. Bean isn't getting enough full-spectrum light! The places where coffee trees grow abundantly and naturally are all tropical and in close proximity to the equator. They are also outdoors and so get a good half day of natural sunlight. I understand that Home Depot has grow lights that can be mounted or even clipped for optimal placement.
Yeah, I /did/ have a grow bulb (I said that a little bit up)... But it burnt out. I'm taking it in tomorrow to see if rona will replace it without receipt. IF not I'll uy a new one. Will he improve you think if I misted him with water to help raise his humidity?
Ack. Will he survive another repotting so soon after one though? Or should I get it all over and done with now? The gravel is rather fine on one hand, but still probably not fine enough. His roots didnt APPEAR rotted, although IA m not sure what to look for. Lots of white roots that seemed healthy, but they were also in the shape of the original pot - no 'growth' so to speak. What would you reccomend doing? I can see about some ... whatever youc all it (I can't remember right now) to 'sand' the soil down so it drains better. Btw, will a bit of plastic mesh over the drain hole be a problem? I didnt want all the dirt to fall out.
