Citrus Blackfly Numphs

/Citrus Blackfly Numphs/

Citrus Blackfly Numphs

Without seeing these black lumps "up close and personal" or putting them under a microscope, it's impossible to know for sure what you have. There are two possibilities based on this photo - one would be frass (aka caterpillar poop) from a larvae of some sort, but this seems unlikely as we don't see signs of these leaves being eaten. The second possibility is that these are citrus blackfly nymphs or the pupae of the orange spiny whitefly. In either case, you'd spray the underside of the foliage with horticultural oil to smother any adult insects as well as any nymphs/larvae.

There are some insects that pile their own excrement on their backs for protection. (Charming, right?) It's possible that these dark bits are something like this as well. Again, the horticultural oil is the best response. Repeat the application after a couple of weeks and monitor the plant to see if there are other symptoms. Avoid heavy-hitting insecticides that are likely to kill everything as this decreases the population of valuable predators that usually keep insect pests in check.

By | 2017-09-11T15:49:28-07:00 January 8th, 2016|Fruit Plants & Trees|0 Comments
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Devils Walking Stick

Deviläó»s walking stick or Hercules club gets its common name from the stout, sharp spines found on its leaf stalks, stems and branches. This is a large, upright, suckering, deciduous shrub that typically grows to 10-15äó» tall, but infrequently grows as a small flat topped tree to as much as 35äó» tall. It is native and is commonly found in wood margins, fields and pastures. Its spreading, suckering, colonizing habit, can be like sumac or bamboo, therefore the plant must be planted cautiously or it can become a monster in the landscape. Interesting compound foliage, late summer flowers, juicy black fruit and spiny stems give this shrub distinctive and unique ornamental interest. Best utilized in infrequently traveled areas where contact with the plant spines are unlikely to harm passersby. Plants can appear coarse in winter, but the compound foliage, flowers, fruit and general plant habit lend diversity and interest during the growing season. Good for shrub borders, woodland margins and remote areas of the landscape where it can be allowed to spread. Native plant areas.

By | 2016-01-08T16:06:58-08:00 January 8th, 2016|Shrubs|0 Comments
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Asian Citrus Psyllid

Huanglongbing disease (HLB)
The Asian citrus psyllid is the vector for Huanglongbing disease, a citrus greening disease and has been detected in several California counties. HLB is a bacterial disease that attacks the vascular system of the citrus and once it is infected, there is no cure, resulting in its death within a few years. For quarantined areas, do not remove or share citrus fruit, trees, clippings or grafts. Other preventative measures include spraying your citrus trees with an organic insecticide formulated with Spinosad, regular maintenance watering and feeding practices and purchasing citrus trees from reputable garden center. Initially, yellow, asymmetrical splotches appear on the leaves progressing to yellowing of entire branches and their death with deformed and small fruits that are bitter. If Californians suspect they have seen evidence of HLB, they are asked to call the CDFA (California Department of Food and Agriculture) hotline at 1-800-491-1899. For more information on the Asian citrus psyllid, visit www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/acp/.

By | 2017-09-11T15:49:28-07:00 January 8th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Crown Of Thorns

Here are a few care tips and information about your crown of thorns plant. Euphorbia milii, is a succulent plant in the same family as the poinsettia, the thorns cover stems that ooze latex sap when cut. This is a common characteristic of euphorbias and is not a sign of disease. Use gloves when handling this plant to protect your skin from both the thorns and the sap. Indoors needs bright, indirect light and water only when soil feels dry to the touch down to the first knuckle. Outdoors provide full or partial sun and water sparingly. Does not tolerate frost. Flowers may be red, yellow, pink or white, depending on the cultivar. Your plant's foliage looks a bit sparse and this may be related to the cold winter or perhaps over watering. Also is it in full sun? If not, provide more sunlight. To give it an extra boost, suggest you foliar feed with a liquid organic kelp following the directions on the label and feed with a slow-release or organic fertilizer formulated for blooming container plants (do not use a synthetic fertilizer that encourages soft, foliar growth at the expense of flowering). Hope this helps your plant to bloom!

By | 2016-01-08T10:41:48-08:00 January 8th, 2016|Succulents|0 Comments
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Cant Say For Sure

We're sorry but we can't specifically diagnose the droopiness from your photo. It may have been caused by several things, but we did notice in your photo that the soil outside the hole where the tree is planted is much different than the soil around the immediate root zone (or in the hole). If your ground soil is very heavy clay and you had difficulty digging a hole for the tree, and then put very different soil in the hole/around the roots when planting, this creates a poor drainage situation, and the potential for root rot. (you may be witnessing the first signs of failing roots because they are too wet). Additionally, many plants, including Avocado, won't grow a healthy root system if the roots cannot penetrate the very heavy clay and/or compacted soil outside of the hole they were planted in. You may want to consider replanting this tree in a much larger hole that is not limited by heavy clay at the bottom or sides of the hole. Organic amendments are a great choice for improving drainage in heavy clay soils but you have to amend a much larger area than the existing root-ball. Hope this helps, but we've included this link that will give you more specific info about growing Avocado trees. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/avocados.html

By | 2016-01-08T06:37:18-08:00 January 8th, 2016|Trees|0 Comments
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Nutrient Deficiency

From the photo it appears that there may be a nutrient deficiency showing in the older leaves. If the plant is growing "in-ground" deficiencies are usually not due to lack of nutrients in the soil, but usually caused by over or under-watering for the plants needs. Watering can sometimes cause damage or yellowing to the foliage. Over-watering can cause the plant to produce vegetative growth rather than flowers, and underwatering is stressful for the plant and it may respond by not producing flowers. In water stressed situations, plant roots either begin to rot or dry out and therefore can't function sufficiently to absorb nutrients along with water. We recommend watering more deeply and less frequently rather than providing smaller amounts more frequently. If the water does not soak into the soil quickly and begins to runoff before you can provide a sufficient amount, you can apply water until it just begins to runoff, let that water soak in, apply more again until just before runoff, let that soak in, and repeat this several times during one irrigation (in the same day). We recommend keeping the soil evenly moist, and avoiding fluctuations between dry and flooded soils to keep the salts diluted in the moist soil.

By | 2016-01-08T06:29:49-08:00 January 8th, 2016|Vegetable Plants|0 Comments
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Hosta Tattered Edges

The tattered edges on variegated hosta are usually from a combination of causes.
1. Leaf spot fungus. We see dark spots on your leaves that are typical of fungal diseases that hostas get, especially when splashed with water from irrigation systems or hoses. Water hostas deeply once a week (they are pretty drought tolerant) to avoid such fungal probems.
2. Earwig or slug damage. Both earwigs and slugs love to eat hostas and they are particularly fond of the white variegated varieties. Use a product such as Sluggo Plus from early in the season on to help with insect and slug damage. Dusting with diatomaecous earth can also help.
3. End of season environmental damage. Yes, too much sun can damage hostas but at this time of year many hosta show signs of environmental damage from sun, drought, wind, or just "it's the end of the line weariness." Most perennial plants begin draining their energy into their roots at this time of year and this makes various leaf-spots and other damage more noticeable. Not to worry, however, because this means the plant is doing as it should...shutting systems down and storing sugars in the roots for use in breaking dormancy next year.

Bottom line: this is nothing unusual. Relax and enjoy the fall colors.

By | 2016-01-07T19:09:37-08:00 January 7th, 2016|Perennials|0 Comments
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Onion White Rot

The pathogen persists as small, dormant structures, called sclerotia, in soil. Sclerotia can survive for over 20 years, even in the absence of a host plant. Disease severity depends on sclerotia levels in the soil at planting. As few as one sclerotium per 10 kilograms of soil can initiate disease. Only one sclerotium per kilogram of soil can cause measurable disease loss, and 10 to 20 sclerotia per kilogram result in infection of essentially all plants.

Sclerotia can be spread throughout a field or from field to field by flood water, equipment, or on plant material, including wind blown scales. Sclerotia remain dormant in the absence of onion or other Allium crops. Their germination is stimulated by Allium root extracts and exudates that extend into the soil about 0.5 inch from the root.
Disease development is favored by cool, moist soil conditions. The soil temperature range for infection is 50ŒÁ to 75ŒÁF, with optimum being 60ŒÁ to 65ŒÁF. At soil temperatures above 78ŒÁF, the disease is markedly inhibited. Soil moisture conditions that are favorable for onion and garlic growth are also ideal for white rot development.

By | 2016-01-07T17:24:24-08:00 January 7th, 2016|Plant Diseases|0 Comments
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Native Azalea

There are over 800 species in the genus Rhododendron, some say 1000! Azaleas are are included in the genus Rhododendron. Rhododendrons are native to many parts of the world, both tropical and temperate. The more hardy types are found in China, Japan, and eastern and western North America. In the US, the culture of rhododendrons is best in eastern areas and the Pacific Northwest.
These hybrids exhibit elliptic to oblong, mid-green leaves to 3 inches in length that will remain on the 4- to 8-foot-tall plants until late autumn in our milder zones. With a bit of chill, leaves will color up in the fall before dropping. Lax trusses of 18 to 30 funnel-shaped, 2- to 3-inch flowers are coaxed out as the weather warms in late April or early May. One look at the "flame" colors and you realize this azalea likes more sun than its evergreen cousins.
Exbury azaleas are most effectively used as focal points in your garden, either singly or massed together with different shadings of color. Given the color range, they can blend with similar warm colors in a plot or be used as a single splash of vibrant color. They are attractive to pollinators.

By | 2016-01-07T14:57:20-08:00 January 7th, 2016|Shrubs|0 Comments
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See Earlier Response

Sorry but we don't have anything new to tell you about this. This stem looks like it could be mealybug or woolly aphid (see the link below) but as we said previously the other photo with the organisms(?) lined up in rows does not. Its possible the other photo is of some kind of pupal stage (cacoons) of a beneficial fly or wasp, but they typically lay their eggs on the backs of caterpillars, not on plant parts. Again, we suggest you contact local professionals and either provide them with photos or live samples sealed in a bag. If you think these are pests causing plant damage, you could use horticultural oils or pesticidal soaps. If you think they're not damaging pests, then you can leave them alone and observe them, or put them in some kind of enclosed bug box, butterfly cage, etc. We would like to know what you find out. Sorry we can't be of more assistance, but there are millions of insect species, all with various life stages that take different forms and we just haven't come across these yet, if in fact they are insects.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/PLANTS/INVERT/woolaphids.html

By | 2016-01-07T14:41:27-08:00 January 7th, 2016|Vegetable Plants|0 Comments
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