<p>I have two large outdoor hibiscus plants with terrible whitefly. One of the plants is covered in white fur and the soil around the tree is covered in white. This happens every year on these two plants. I usually just live with it and try to cut off the worst of it but this year it is happening earlier and the infestation is the entire plant.
Suggestions? We have a curious dog so don’t want to use anything toxic. Part of me is leaning to just taking the entire plant out but the stunk and roots are fairly substantial. Also would the soul remaining be a problem for future plants.
I have a couple of other hibiscus in other parts of my yard that don’t have a problem.</p>
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<p>I was not aware that plants have souls.</p>
<p>What are the growing conditions?
A healthy plant will be more likely to resist an infestation.</p>
<p>This is pretty good resource:</p>
<p><a href=“Controlling Whiteflies in Your Garden - Master Gardeners of Ventura County”>http://ucanr.edu/sites/VCMG/Controlling_Whiteflies_in_Your_Garden/</a></p>
<p>I use original formula windex to control pests like aphids etc. It is ammonia and soap!</p>
<p>Our next-door neighbor is a PhD specializing in tomatoes. He works for a company that grows them indoors, all-year round. The tomatoes are sold all over New England. Last summer, whiteflies got into the greenhouse. They had to throw out ALL of the tomatoes and clean the place from top to bottom. There wasn’t enough work for most of the employees, so the owner said he would continue to pay anyone who did volunteer work in the community. They were able to get tomatoes back in the stores just recently. I couldn’t believe what a big deal it was.</p>
<p>Very happy-
Not sure what happened to my post. Will start over</p>
<p>Bunsenburner- nice site. I use original windex for ants.
Meant to type soil.
Emeraldkity- the area is not optimal for gardening. Growing conditions- clay soil that was amended at one time but not in years. Coastal conditions. Morning sun if the sun is out. In summer we get ocean fog. Some days the sun won’t appear till after 5 pm and by that time this area of the yard is already shaded. Average temps in the 70’s. Sunny times of the year are usually spring and fall. The weird thing about these plants is that even though they are heavily infested they grow vigorously and the leaves and flowers that aren’t covered with whitefly are a healthy green. </p>
<p>Ah – soil! </p>
<p>Today I removed the majority of the fur covered leaves and placed in a black sealed garbage bag. Made a mix of rubbing alcohol, dish soap and water and sprayed the leaves and some of the soil on the largest plant. My friend is dropping off a couple of bags of worm casings. She said her neighbor suggested I mix it into the first couple of inches of soil. Hopefully it will work. My big fear is I don’t want to spread them to the rest of my property.
Still open for other ideas?</p>