My friend has two large tropical hibiscus plants that she keeps outdoors in the summer months and brings inside when it gets cold. This year after having the plants indoors for several months, she found white, round, fairly hard, spheres (slightly larger than a seed bead) attached to the older stems of the plant. Upon crushing them, they yielded a little moisture, but nothing else. What are these things?! I'm guessing some sort of insect eggs. I told her to pick some off, put them in a clear plastic bag, seal it, lay the bag on the soil in the pot (to keep the same temp and light as the host plant) and see if anything comes of them in the next few days. Not mealybugs, not aphids, not anything I can think of. Could this be sap leaking out and forming the sphere from moving damage, or something biting the stems? The spheres are not on new foilage, just on the older, tougher stems. Also, she said some of the spheres "disappeared" from the day before, but she couldn't find any bugs, or remains of the spheres on the soil or the floor! I've had hibiscus for years and never encountered anything like this. Got ideas?
Hi Barbara, Sounds like scale insects to me, possibly hibuscus snow scale or white wax scale. You can use canola oil with a few drops of dish soap and spray every 5 to 7 days, especially in spring. Don't spray the leaves if at all possible, but the trunk and branches. http://www.extento.hawaii.edu/Kbase/view/files/Pictures/P_strac1.jpg http://www.extento.hawaii.edu/kbase/crop/Type/p_strach.htm http://www.geocities.com/hibiscusred/bug/suckers2.htm#Scale From this site: http://www.hibiscusworld.com/pests-and-diseases.html Newt
If Your Hibiscus Is Indoors, Try Spraying Your Hibiscus With Hot Water Out Of A Spray Bottle On Both Sides Of The Leaves On A Daily Basis.....i Have Had No Bug Problems For 2 Years And My Plant, Which Is By A Window) Produces 7" In Diameter. Good Luck.
thanks for the tip...I give my hibiscus plants (and any other ones that spend time outdoors in the milder seasons) a shower before they come inside, but hadn't thought to continue this regimen on a daily basis. Do you feed your hibiscus with time realease fertilizer in the winter indoors? I find that just a little bit helps them on their way the next time they go outdoors. However, I have not found a systemic insecticide that I can use that doesn't make the leaves and buds drop.
Not sure what they are but I had them as well and when I started mist spraying. My buds, and yellowed leaves dropped too, but discovered it was from overwatering! I also transplanted to a larger pot. Mine is a house plant and I water lightly only when it is dry.
