Isolate the affected ones before spring or the whole collection will have it.

Why don't you want to use imidacloprid?

Hi Wade,

Welcome to our forum, it's great to get another Aussie signed up.

I take it by black scale you mean what we call "fly speck scale". Like Gonzer says, it's important to isolate the affected plants ASAP and carefully check all of your remaining plants, especially down in the base of the leaves. Avoid over crowding as this will make the problem much worse and always quarantine any new plants.

I only seem to get it on the occasional plant that I buy from other growers and manage to control it OK by spraying with Clensel which is non toxic to humans and made from mostly natural products.

Alternatively, you could try making your own spray from Canola Oil using Rob Smthe's recipe available from fcbs.org/articles/canola.htm. It also is harmless to humans and seems to work pretty well for us down here on the south coast of NSW.

Hope this helps, all the best, Nev.

What is the deal with oil on broms? Good or bad?
I have been treating any new broms now,( late winter to early spring) with a sit down in the sun, a cup of coffee and some paper towels and metho.first I tip out the water (saves getting wet shoes) then I wipe away the scale using a paper towel dampened with metho, and check and wipe down in the leaf axils, cutting the leaves off for access if I have to. I'd rather have a clean, slightly thinned foliage brom in my collection, than a leafy, buggy one. Of course, this doesn't work for big collections. After cleaning, give the whole plant a rinse and top up with fresh water. Isolate it for at least two weeks, checking for reinfestation and treating again if nessesary.
The best part is the coffee in the sun!
BA

Hi BA,
The oil smothers the scale as the actual insect is under that black / grey hard shell you see. Once sprayed with the oil spray (smythe's receipe)in late afternoon you then hose it off early next morning before the sun comes up. About a week later you know they are dead if they come off easily with your finger nail. The benefit with that receipe is that you can add a little vinegar if you want to clean / pretty up your broms again as long as it is hosed off in the morning.
I have my coffee in one hand and the hose in the other !!

Dooley

Hi Dooley, I'm a bit confused by that article. Do you apply the drained off water mixture, or the remaining emulsion? I'm assuming its the remaining emulsion?
I've printed that article out for future reference, and as it is the right time to spray for scale, its handy to have.
I'd better put canola oil on the shopping list.
Has anyone tried it on Guzzies or Vrieseas? My V. heiroglyphica is prone to flyspeck scale, as is V. phillipo-coburgii and my seedlings. I don't have any huge infestations, but there are always one or two on the odd plant to be seen.
BA

BA,
Disgard the water mixture and what's left (the emulsion) is basically the concentrate you keep to make future mixtures. Once this is made add some to a spray bottle with water and a little vinegar (optional) if you want to clean your broms as well. As far as i know it should be safe for all broms as long as you hose off in the morning. The detergent in the mixture will help get rid of any algae as well.
Dooley.

I prefer to use liquid soap than detergent ,quite a number of detergents contain Formaldehyde even if it does not say that on the bottle ,thats's not good for you or plants and liquid soap kills a lot of bugs where detergents don't do that well ,for me the Fly speck allways wants to get on Billbergia " Bellissimo " nothing else,its a curse allright .Jack

Hi Jack,
I have not used liquid soap but there is no formaldehyde in detergent. Formaldehyde is added to some detergents to make disinfectants. Formaldehyde , sugar water mix is used on plants and vegetables as a germicide and a fungicide and to kill insects as well. It is made quite strong,one fluid ounce to a pint of water. Interestingly if you leave your canola white oil emulsion long enough in the sun eventually a detergent is formed from the oil and you donÂt need to add detergent.
hope this helps
dooley.

isn't chemistry a complex thing? I'm glad someone out there understands it. I'll just trust your knowledge. I'm interested to see how the vinegar will affect the plants, having never seen it applied (to my knowledge)
Thanks for clearing up my confusion about the emulsion.
BA

I've sprayed vinegar on an Aechmea or two to try to remove calcium deposits. No side effects where observed.

Hi Wade,

Sorry to jump into your thread with a different topic, but given the feedback about brom's and vineger I thought it appropriate.

About thirty years ago, a very good, orchid growing friend of mine, showed me his collection of beautifully grown Ae. fasciatas which were all mounted on bush timber and hanging from the roof in his shade house above his orchids.

They really looked beautiful and when I asked him the secret to their culture, he said he watered them and the orchids together, didn't fertilize them at all, but did however put a teaspoonful of brown malt vinegar in the cup of each plant every month as instructed by the chap who gave him his first pup some years before that.

I've never tried this myself, but as vinegar has been mentioned in this thread, I just thought I would pass this little bit of info. on.

Can any of you chemical minded people explain if this could have been the reason for their beautiful healthy appearance ie. can vinegar really nourish bromeliads, or was it just due to his good growing conditions?

All the best, Nev.

Hi Nev,

Re vinegar in bromeliad cups, I haven't seen anything definitive on this, but I could offer the following thoughts.

The effectiveness of the chemical mechanics that plants use to absorb nutrients are often strongly affected by pH. Something like Ae. fasciata would be adapted to be good at absorbing nutrients from its cup full of decomposing leaf litter, which would have a pH that is quite acidic. Vinegar is strongly acidic, so putting some in the cup of the plant would put the pH in the acidic range, which would help the plant to be as good as possible at absorbing any nutrients that are also in there.

Maybe the malt residues in brown malt vinegar could also provide some nutrition directly, but I wouldn't mind betting that the main effect would be via pH, and this could be a big effect, especially if the water supply has been made quite alkaline by the water supply authorities, as is often the case.

Like mine is. Hey, I'm getting a bottle of brown malt vinegar on the way home from work tonight and that fluting variegated fasciata of mine is getting a dose! Thanks for a great idea.

Cheers, Paul