Last weekend I needed to move it from the spot and noticed suspicious white spot on the top of one of the fronds. I looked at the back and almost fainted:
And here is the close up:
I took it out to garage in hopes that bugs will die in the cold and because didn't really want this to be inside around my orchids. Now I don't know if I should even bother to try and save it or just throw it away as is. I guess I could cut off all the fronds, but the pine-cone-like stem has so many rough creases that it would be impossible to clean them out completely, so I would never be sure that they are gone.
Should I just thorw it away?
You can remove the visible scale with rubbing alcohol and a q-tip, then spray with an insecticide. You have to be careful to make sure that you spray more than once at the appropriate times since scale is practically indestructible during it's adult stage. If you keep it separated from your other plants for a month of two (after several rounds of spraying) it should be fine to reintroduce.
ReplyDeleteDon't throw it away.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite hardy and able to handle all the pruning and cleaning.
IF you are really worried about the bugs - give a good pesticide spraying for 3 days in a row and wash it throughly and check for any survivors.
You can continue spraying after the 1st week for another 3 days.
Chances are the ants might have brought them - check for them too.
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