The more you look, the more you see... such a brilliant conclusion to start this post with!
Oh, but what I'm talking about! This is so logical, we don't have to be a keen observer and thinker like Hercule Poirot was to figure this out. Everyone knows this fact - then what is so special about this?
I can't justify myself... that is the thing. I was not looking and seeing what was going on for a while. And that, exactly that "not seeing" brought the situation, or let's say execution I had to carry out yesterday. I didn't see on time the mealybugs that were happily living and building a strong empire on my Lucky Bells. Two pots of tall, grown-up plants blooming for two or three years had to be chopped up and thrown away. I had to do it as it had no other solution. There were too many mealybugs and the plants kind of gave up on the surviving phase — poor, unlucky Lucky Bells.
Well, I am not shaken by this situation very heavily. I know that Lucky Bells can propagate so easily, but it was just the feeling that I had to throw away some plants that had grown with me since they were tiny babies and arrived in a small cardboard package with other succulents from abroad.
I took some smaller cuttings and leaves from the plants that finished in the bin, those where I saw no mealybugs (first photo). Plus, I already have a pot with two young plants, offspring from those unlucky big ones. These were not close to the pot where the mealybugs settled, so they stayed intact (I hope🤔).
They will be fine and it is just a matter of time before Lucky Bells will grow from those leaves.
However, there is a little issue with other succulents that were sharing the pot with one of the affected plants. One little plant also hosted the mealybugs family so once again I took just a few parts that I think are intact (however, the more I look the more I see)... I will make sure they are clean when I pass an ear stick soaked in alcohol between/under the leaves.
Also, I got rid of the soil as I think it can be "infected" by the pest. Now these plants are waiting for the new soil and new pot, and also to check their roots thoroughly if they are ok and without any sign of mealybugs. I have to be a good Poirot detective this time.
It was interesting to see what their roots look like.
Another case that no detective can solve is the attack and perseverance of the black aphids. God knows how many times this big Aeonium (and now the small one in the second pot too) went to the shower, to be sprayed first with dishwasher liquid (dishwasher diluted with water) and later showered with clean water. The plant did that journey so many times but the black aphids always reappeared.
Aren't they cute? 😂
No, they are not!
I bought a liquid of Urtica dioica to spray them, every 15 days, but I think I will combine both the dishwasher liquid solution and the Urtica dioica solution until the aphids decide not to come back. I think this is the first time I have been fighting them for so long.
Hey! But not all things are so unlucky in my succulents' world.
The Ruby Blush plants are starting to bloom and we don't need detectives in this case to conclude how nice they are! 😊
It's the same with mealy bugs! I have the first two plants that appear in the photographs and I have to control them closely... although they are small.
The one I really like is the last one, what beautiful flowers!!!
The neutral or white soap dissolved in water is very good!
Small or big ones, we always have to care of them as best as we can 😇
Now they seem to be better, I have them on the small balcony, and I talk to them, they seem to like it!
You talk to the mealybugs or to the plants? {just kidding 😉}
With both of them! I kindly invite them to leave.... or else...🤣
😂
My friend used to talk to ants when they invaded her kitchen, to kindly leave 😂
Not always with a lot of success haha
They never listen to us... it's no use talking to them, I'll have to fumigate them.🤣
Too bad your plants got sick, but if their loss saves the others...have a safe trip. They fulfilled their life cycle.
Now...to try to save the new babies.
Está hermosa!!
Yes, it is better so the other plants don't suffer the same end.
The Ruby Blush is blushing 😁
🤣🤣
Ouch!
But I had to do the very same thing two years ago or so. The whole Lucky Bells was so covered in aphids that this was the only option. I had some tiny seedlings saved and it is doing fine now :) Just a longer wait for flowers.
Very... 🔫
😂 yeah, very cute 😁
I remember... so this destiny happened now to my/your/our ones 😑
But these two young ones will probably bloom already next year, and from the leaves will come new plants too, I am sure! 😋
Too bad you had to throw those beautiful plants away. I don't quite agree with your statement, but that's just me 😏. Sometimes you look and look and without having the full information you can get the wrong idea. And well, maybe you have to identify where the bad bugs are coming from, to control or prevent them from spreading. And don't just try to relieve them with baths (pills) because they always come back. In medicine this is called prophylaxis.
linda noche. 🤗
Sometimes I don't spot the mealybugs on time, so they harm the plant and infect it and other ones too. Then it is no other thing to do. But the young plants will do well so it is not all lost :))
The difficulty with the aphids and this particular plant is that its leaves are growing dense and the little eggs of the aphids stay there hidden and always hatch. La planta ya ha invadido nuestro plato de ducha 😂
Qué cantidad de bichos madre mía. Eso de verlo me da picazón. 😂
Fuente: https://www.rentokil.com/es/blog/hormigas-y-pulgones-una-relacion-peligrosa/
Lo que te decía: las hormigas son las nanas de ellos.
Sí, observar siempre, como un detective, como decía en mi post 😉
Lo que me queda es seguir usando el jabón, y ahora también el líquido de ortiga, que también se puede utilizar en cultivos y que luego todavía se pueden etiquetar como productos ecológicos. Esto es lo que leí en la botella que compré.
Hormigas no he visto, de momento 😅
Cómo van tus suculentas? 🌱
Acaloradas ... Pero les gusta. 🤭😂
🌡
So beatiful your plants...
Gracias. Yes, those that survive my care are nice haha
Some don't have the same luck 😂
I feel you don’t feel comfortable enough with those plants and that’s why you threw it away
You may feel they are not cute but they are and they look so green
Anyway, have a good day
...
it was the aphids I was talking about that were not cute... not the plants
Excellent write up
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Mentioning of the gentleman detective put a smile on my face 😅. The plants are nice but the bugs are not! What is the plant at the third picture? That looks cool!
Hahaha, yes, the detective wanted to visit this post in a way 😂 Plants without the bugs will be perfection, but that is life :D
The plant on the third photo - that one I don't know hahaha, I got it without the name. Now it will have to grow again from these little parts...
Hopefully you will have even better and more beautiful collection 😊
Awwww.... poor babies !
I'm glad you have a wait to treat the others. I love the shape and color of the blooms on the plant in your last photo.
Poor plants, but they will be fine, I know. They grow literally from a leaf, I do it many times, to propagate a plant from one leaf. ;)
Friend, for my plants I use rice water, and coffee grounds, they don't like the smell. Too bad about your plants but you will see that the new ones will come out stronger. Vinegar is also good for spider mites. And those that we see there are beautiful. Have a nice week.🥰❤️🌹🌷
You are taking care of your plants very well, @mamani
Thank you for visiting my succulents and for the tips. A nice week to you too ;) 🌹