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kacey_coburn

Mold on plant...what to do?

7 years ago

I inherited this plant from a friend with no instructions on how to care for it. It was doing great—growing and looking pretty healthy—but after a few months of having it, I noticed mold growing on it. Anyone have any advice on a) how to best care for this plant in general and b) what to do about the mold? Is there a way to save it...or did I kill it?





Comments (11)

  • 7 years ago
    Those are mealy bugs. Unless that plant has GREAT sentimental value I would chuck it. It’s not the healthiest looking thing. Google mealy bug eradication.
  • 7 years ago

    Thanks to both of you! It gets indirect light and I water it once every 1.5 weeks. Based on the kind of plant it is, do you know how much and what kind of light it should be getting? And as for repotting...it hasn't been repotted in a long time. So root mealies could be present.

  • 7 years ago

    I am not certain on ID but it looks rather Hoya-like to me.....but I am only familiar with a couple of species and there are scads. And I'd caution against watering on any kind of schedule - water thoroughly when the plant needs it. Test by inserting a wood skewer or chopstick down into the pot. If it comes out dry, water. If it comes out damp, don't :-)

    And do check for root mealies!

  • 7 years ago

    Yes, check for mealies- they are a horrible pest. Also, does the pot have good drainage? Are you sure the pot doesn't sit in a puddle after watering?

  • 7 years ago

    I'm sorry to say I think it's too late, there's not much left to save. Ignoring root mealies, those visible mealies are a pretty severe infestation on an unhealthy looking plant (sorry).

    I grow both Hoyas & Schefleras, this is not a Hoya, maybe it's a Scheff, w/ those clusters of leaves.

    Sorry, I'd toss it & start over.

  • 7 years ago

    I grow both too. The foliage appears to be opposite so it's not a Schefflera. The leaf shape,(not palmate), leaf arrangement and the vines made me think Hoya too. My plain old H carnosa certainly has clusters of leaves. But I'm not dead set on that id. It almost looks like something that climbs by its petioles, given their contortion.

  • 7 years ago

    Maybe take a few cuttings and restart, if you do decide to discard the plant. Thoroughly clean them to get rid of the mealy bugs. You can spray/mist plant parts you are keeping with alcohol and then use Q-tips to wipe away bugs or just use alcohol soaked Q-tips. Definitely looks like there are some nodes there, so taking cuttings should be easy enough. Then you can start over and have a heathy pest free version of this guy soon enough.

  • 7 years ago

    Whatever the plant is it would cost more for some insecticide than it would to just purchase a new healthy plant. If you want to try and save I would cut off some vines, clean well with alcohol as suggested in prior post. Try rooting plant in water until you get roots and then pot in scrubbed clean sterilized in diluted bleach with new well draining soil, which will cost more than just getting a new healthy plant also.

  • 7 years ago

    What no one has shared is that weak & bug infested plants don't make for good cuttings & are less likely to survive. Pls do yourself a favor & toss this, It's too far gone to waste your time, money & energy.

  • 7 years ago

    That might be true, but I don’t think it hurts to try anyway. You never know, this plant could be a fighter and you could get lucky and have one or more cuttings root. If you have dirt, water, a cutting utensil, and something to put the cuttings in, I personally don’t see a huge waste of expense or time. I like taking cuttings to share and, sometimes, just to see what happens. It might be interesting to see if you can get this to restart and, if you do, what a great accomplishment. Some of my most prized plants are ones that I started from a cutting, because I watched it grow from the beginning, basically nothing, and turn in to a full, beautiful, heathly plant. On the other hand, if it does seem like a total waste of time and energy to you, toss it.

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