mealybugs on Epiphyllum
Quick answer
If your Epiphyllum has mealybugs, the most likely cause is: Woolly aphids and mealybugs sit at the top of the cactus pest list and their colonies settle into the areole recesses and axils of leafy stems such as Epiphyllum, draining sap until the segments turn yellowish, shrivel and stop growing. A second, hidden form attacks the rootball, leaving cottony webs around the roots that only become visible when the plant is unpotted.
Start here:
- 1. Pick off the visible insects with a soft brush, then paint the cottony nests with a brush dipped in cooking oil to smother the eggs and adults, and finally rinse the affected stems with a weak detergent solution while keeping the soil covered with foil so nothing rinses into the root zone.
- 2. For root mealybugs, unpot the plant, wash all of the old soil off the roots with a hose, and repot into fresh compost in an absolutely clean pot.
Why Epiphyllum gets mealybugs
Epiphyllum
Woolly aphids and mealybugs sit at the top of the cactus pest list and their colonies settle into the areole recesses and axils of leafy stems such as Epiphyllum, draining sap until the segments turn yellowish, shrivel and stop growing. A second, hidden form attacks the rootball, leaving cottony webs around the roots that only become visible when the plant is unpotted.
How to reverse mealybugs on Epiphyllum
- 1
Pick off the visible insects with a soft brush, then paint the cottony nests with a brush dipped in cooking oil to smother the eggs and adults, and finally rinse the affected stems with a weak detergent solution while keeping the soil covered with foil so nothing rinses into the root zone.
- 2
For root mealybugs, unpot the plant, wash all of the old soil off the roots with a hose, and repot into fresh compost in an absolutely clean pot.
- 3
Quarantine the infested plant away from the rest of the collection until at least one full inspection cycle has passed with no live insects.
Keep mealybugs off this Epiphyllum
Inspect Epiphyllum stems at the areoles and leaf axils every few weeks, keep plants in airy conditions with steady humidity through winter, and isolate any new cutting for at least two weeks before introducing it to the rest of the collection.