little pests on my azaleas

[lbfoss]

I first found Landspro while searching for help in saving my azaleas. They had white spots on the leaf tops and black spots on the undersides. Until last night, I never saw a moving insect on them, but the leaves continued to looked "sucked out" of their chloroform. Well, I got out a magnifying glass and I found these flying insects that are shaped like paper airplanes and are light gray with a couple of tiny black dots on the wings. Not white flies for sure, but prolific egg layers, especially now on the new growth.

I whacked the azalea down to 18 x 18" from 4 x3 feet and cleaned out a lot of the intercrossing branches. Most of the leaves left are misshapen and stunted. I sprayed every which way with general orchard insect spray hoping to get all sides of every branch. Tonight I will rake out the mulch under it and put new stuff down after I sprinkle some coffee grounds around the base.

I am hoping that these drastic measures will give the poor thing a new lease on life. It is such a beautiful bloomer, literally covered with blossoms, but the leaves were nearly bleached white. I had cut this guy down twice before as it had grown too large, so I moved it this winter to a new place, but the leaves, when the flowers died, were awful, and I knew there was a big problem.

Will let you know how and if it comes back to me!!

[Tom]

Linda,
You have provided a very good description of Lace Bug damage to your azaleas.
There are several control measures that are less severe than the one you describe.

Lace Bugs can be killed off with a few applications of Orthene on the top and bottoms of all leaf surfaces. Adults lay their eggs on the underside of the leaf. Now is the perfect time to bring them under control, while they are actively feeding.

After the damage is visible, it is sometimes difficult to determine if your control is working, because the damaged leaf will never recover. If they are still present, you can see them on the bottom of the leaves, but they are hard to see. New growth should be clean and undamaged.

[lbfoss]

Yeah, well that azalea was a bit over the top anyway, but it certainly does look like I had done an "Edward Sissorhand" kind of number on it......here's hoping that it will recover as it has in the past..... several of my others are obviously having the same problem....I won't be so hard on them :)

thanks, Tom, I needed a name for these little critters. I think I will still trim most of the azaleas and clean out some of their middles for aeration so that spraying will be more effective and easier. they are pretty full, and a bit on the "mature landscape" side for the younger azaleas to look comfortable next to. I don't want them to overpower the space they are in, and the basement windows need a little light, a trim is in order now so they will bloom lots next year.....

Take care, I appreciate the advice!!

[lbfoss]

Mine don't look like the photos I saw on the Florida extension but the description of what they do is certainly the same. last year i did baby shampoo/listerine/tobacco tea spraying, and I guess I should institute it again as I hate the insecticides, but this poor bush was so covered with these critters and looked so sad that I just couldn'thelp myself. I didn't notice the damage until the blooms faded and I realized that there was basically no color in the new growth or the old!! And the leaves were so mishapen....I want a healthy happy bush, albeit now smaller this year than last.....

[Tom]

Linda,
I don't want to be critical, but evidently what you did last year didn't work. Why do that again?

I agree with you on the harsh chemicals, and I rarely use them, but there comes a time when you are faced with protecting you investment, and this is one of those times. If the bugs destroy the leaves, the plants will die.

Right now I am faced with the same choice. I have 4 plum trees, and 6 peach trees that are absolutely loaded with green fruit. But without chemical sprays, insects and fungus will destroy the entire crop. So my choices are - Spray, or lose the crop. So, if I do not ever plan to spray, I may just as well cut the trees and grow something else (which may happen). Gardening, the way I do it is just too hard to waste a lot of time on stuff that doesn't work.

By the way, the lace bugs have not returned for over 3 years after two or three treatments with Orthene. I have a lot of azaleas, and they were all infested. Giter done

[sue salley]

Tom, I used to get something from Gardens Alive that I could use on fruit trees. It was a ling time ago but they are still in business. All their products are natural. Might be worth checking them out.
I agree about sometimes you have to take drastic measures to save your investment. I only use chemicals in a have to case but sometimes it does come to that rather than lose something.

[lbfoss]

You are both right. Last year I didn't pay any attention to this particular azalea and as she was basically overgrowing her spot and not blooming or in the limelight anyway, I ignored her. The ones I had sprayed with the JerryBaker soap solutions are doing wonderfully. This fall I decided to move this poor azalea (she was about 250# and it took 3 of us to shift her) and when she bloomed this spring, she was spectacular, so I knew I had to get busy and trim and care for her a bit better as she was worth it.

I haven't been taking good care of her, and I did use the Orthene yesterday, at least I think that's what it's called, but I figured i ought to get the bush down to a manageable size and remove a lot of the infestation before i sprayed. I intend to really trim all of my mature azaleas this year to keep them from getting too carried away until the younger ones catch up (and I want to root some of the cuttings of the healthy ones). And as none seem to be having the same problem as this one, I will continue with my twice monthly "shampoo and blow-dry" therapy on them, but shortly I will start including her after her every 3 day treatments end here.

I love my azaleas but I don't want them to take over the windows and house, so I guess I need to get busy and thin them out a bit before I start spraying. I promise not to be so drastic with the others!!

[lbfoss]

Just a followup note. The azalea in question is looking very happy, has leafed out very nicely and has lots of what appear to be buds on the branch ends. She recovered from my harsh trim job and is a much more manageable size now so I can just let her grow.

On the other hand, I sprayed with Sevin once this fall for crickets and it appears that whereever the spray touched a crape myrtle or azalea, it poisoned it. I think I will lose all the bushes across the front of my house, some are 24 years old. I realized that all the minature crape myrtles had suddenly died last month. I then suddenly realized that the leaves on the azaleas were turning about 2 weeks ago. I didn't think much about it but on reflection, the leaves on my azaleas don't turn.....well, they have started dropping off like autumn leaves drop, and two plants are now complete sticks!! I only hope they are going dormant, but I don't see any flower buds on them so I doubt that they will come back next spring........I am kind of sick, I am not certain if I gave them too many coffee grounds, or the spray did them in (which it shouldn't have) or just what I did!! All other of my azaleas are very happy, and doing fine. Boy, I am really pretty sad about these guys, I have been working on saving them and making them healthy, instead I seemed to have done them in. That's about 14 azaleas going or gone. I did something wrong!!

Guess I had better get started taking cuttings and trying to get some new plants going this winter!!

[Tom]

What kind of sprayer do you use.

Is it plastic or metal?

Have you ever sprayed any other chemical with it, or loaned it to someone who may have?

What other chemicals have been sprayed with it?

Did you happen to mix any other chemical with the Sevin.

It is very doubtfull that the sevin caused any of the damage you describe.

There are times when stress will cause leaf drop, but the source of the stress may not be fatal. IE: a mild clorox solution will sometimes cause a leaf drop. Leave the plants alone until next spring to see if they come back.

[Dazed_Lily]

Oh Linda, I am queasy just reading your post. I tend to lean in the direction Tom is headed. Sevin should not have the effect that you are seeing. My goodness, it's used on vegetable crops.
It is important to get to the bottom of what caused this. I doubt that weather could have had that much of an impact--did you have a warmer than usual dry spell with no watering?(I'm out on a limb here).
I agree with taking cuttings. But I also strongly recommend buying some SuperThrive as it has worked miracles with many of my plants on death's door. If you can't get it locally, try Ebay, (look for good feedback and a 4 oz bottle should be about $12 with shipping--although a couple of bucks is nothing when time is of the essence and so much is at stake). Or search for mail order garden supply companies.
Good Luck ! Keep us Posted and I am curious to hear the replies to Tom's questions....

[Ann B.]

My neighbor accidentally got some roundup on a few of hers. She was trying to get rid of some honeysuckle.

Hers started dropping leaves like crazy, but they all came back this year and look quite normal now.

[Tom]

The reason I asked about the sprayer is that metal sprayers are much harder to clean than plastic ones. Even so, sometimes cleaning is not complete and residual chemicals will mix with new ones and cause damage. The roundup comment is just one of the potential dangers.

Generally it is best to have 2 sprayers with clear markings for herbicides or insecticides.

The comments about reluctance to use chemicals have a lot of merit. I would never just do a general spraying as a precaution against insects that "may" develop. I rarely use insecticides in my vegetable or flower gardens, unless other means of control will not do the job.

The exception to that of course is on fruit trees. Fungus and insect damage starts well before they break dormancy, and once damaged, the fruit cannot be recovered.

Sometimes in gardening we will go out and do several things in the same time frame, and suspect that one step caused damage, and miss the real cause.

IE: Azalea's have very shallow root systems, because they must get oxygen to the roots. So care must be taken in adding compost or mulch. Also, because of the shallow roots, they need added water during dry periods. These stressors will both have a delayed reaction and sometimes mislead in the diagnosis.

[lbfoss]

Thank you all for the comments.

I agree that the Sevin shouldn't have done anything bad, and I did use a plastic 1 1/2 gallon tank hand sprayer, and I usually only use insecticide with it. I never have had Round up or Weed B Gone in it ( I use a small spray bottle for those, clearly labeled.)

I was hesitant to try any growth stimulant this late in the year, but I will look for some SuperThrive and give it a try!! Nothing else in the area appears to have died, not the pansies, nor the petunias, just the 6 minature crape myrtles and my 14 front yard azaleas....some haven't dropped all their leaves, but all those azaleas have turned away from their usual green to various rusts and burgandy colors. I must admit the colors are lovely, but I think also hinting toward deadly!!

Will have my spouse water them tonight slowly (although we have had some great rain storms this month) I don't think we have been much without water, and I will get some SuperThrive. I have Hollytone, is it too late or just the wrong thing for this?? We have had a couple of hard frosts but my roses are still blooming, it was in the 70s today.

I will let you all know how this works out :( Thank you for your support!!
Linda

[Tom]

I can't tell you anything about 'superthrive', I've never used it, and can't seem to find out what's in it. The only thing they say is how wonderful it is, never any chemical analysis. Some people praise it; others just say that it doesn't do anything. Maybe someone can give us a list of active ingredients?

I agree on the hesitation to stimulate growth at this time of year. For that reason, I would not apply anything that doesn't give an indication about what is in it.

[Dazed_Lily]

OK, here is what is written on the bottle:
.09% vitamin B-1 and .048% 1-naphthyl acetic acid
I'm a 3 year 'user' .
I have used it as recently as this past weekend on a dead as a doornail lilac, 2 happy prickly pear cactii and 3 transplanted witch hazel trees. I, too, wondered if stimulating growth this time of year was wise.
If I feared that my shrubs were on death's door, I would do it. If they are weak, the freezing cold might just do them in. The superthrive might give them a shot in the arm that will get them through winter.
Based on what I have onserved over 3 years:
Superthrive doesn't make them grow wildly(I know what you might be thinking: fast, gangly growth--that's not the case).
It seems to strengthen them and they flourish.
And they won't do anything nutty like put on growth in freezing temps.

[txbeyer]

I purchased Super Thrive based on recommendation from growers who say it really helps weakened plants recover and stimulates healthy growth, but have to say, I haven't noticed any extroadinary results in using this rather expensive product. My understanding is that it is a hormonal stimulant, not a fertilizer. that aids in the growth process. Does anyone else have any experience with this product.