So sorry to hear about the root mealies. All the lessons you learned will absoloutely help you and your plants in the future. I learned the hard way as well when I spread scale to almost every plant in my collection one time. It takes waaaay more time to treat all your plants if an infestation breaks out then it does to quarantine and check/clean new plants. Your moonstones look beautiful and healthy still so thats wonderful you caught this in time to be proactive with those plants you washed. I hope they all root in well for you and no buggies!
Given To Grow Do you happen to have any pictures of your scale outbreak? I suspect that may be what I have going on but I can't seem find any pictures that look like what my succulents have going on.
One thing I found that helps is mixing a bunch of diatomaceousEarth in with your soil. I have had a root mealybugs for over 10 years and lost most of my cacti collection some plants have had around 30 years. I didn't realize what was happening early on. Every time I think I've got it whooped it will pop up later on. I have resorted to removing all of the soil cutting all of the roots off, dipping the bottom of the plants in insecticide or alcohol. Clean everything like crazy. And repot in soil mixed with diatomaceous Earth. They have only affected my cacti they haven't got on any other succulent until today I found some on the roots of a desert willow. Systematic pesticide malathion has helped a lot but I have only tested it on cacti. It's so hard because the only way to know for sure that they're not there is to remove all of the soil from the root ball so that you can check everything.
I do have some Bayer insecticide that I spray on my African Violet plants do you think I can spray it on my succulents? I'm new at growing succulents and just got some from Lowe's and I was wanting to spray them.
@@ginarodriguez7899 we use and recommend Bayer's tree and shrub insecticide. We removed all soil from infected plants. Then we do a root dip in the Bayers.Let dry and repot in good clean soil. Many people recommend against top dressing your soil but I use small pebbles as it let's me see more easily if bugs are walking around. But that's just me I don't recommend either way on that. Additionally I spot treat plants with an organic insecticidal soap. Try not to do it more than once a year because I dont want to hurt the beneficial insects that visit. If I see a spider or bee in the area for few days before I don't spray. Instead I separate that plant outdoors and let nature come do it's thing. Surprising what lots of air circulation and a good thunderstorm will remove for you. Come fall though plants have to come inside in my area so some insecticidal soap is necessary.
Top dress all of your cacti and succulents with sand to help keep away the root mealies. Sand as a top dressing also looks great and there are different colors to choose from to compliment the colors of your succulents. I stick with black and the traditional desert color myself.
Had a couple mealy bugs on 2 of my jades. I use Bonide on every plant and they stay indoors but I still do daily inspection. Never can trust that they won't resurface. Your plants are so beautiful and hope you get rid of the pests.
After bring home plants from Home Depot that had baby caterpillars (maybe baby moths even) in the soil eating away at the roots, I use a ton of caution. These things looked like maggots but longer and dark heads. I wanted to die. It was the most disgusting thing I've ever had to deal with. I love the channel Growing succulents with Liz K. She goes through her process of bringing home plants too. Quarantining, removing all dirt, washing pots, soaking plants roots and repotting.
Oh I hope you will manage to get rid of the bugs and whatever was causing the stems go that pinkish brown colour from inside. Good idea to never keep the store soils in which the plant comes and clean well the pots, you can also disinfect the roots if you suspect anything with 3% hydrogen peroxide and also advisable to disinfect the scissors you use to cut the stems, if it's an infection of some type and you cut the clean part of the stem with them then it's infected again.
So sad. the good thing is that you saw it quickly enough so you were able to save them. Don't water your echeverias a lot in summer and even your succulents. Moisture and hot weather is the perfect conditions for mealybugs to grow.
Thank you for making this video. I just found mealy bugs on some of my new plants! I also will be taking the same cautious steps whenever I bring home new plants.
YES THIS! new plants must ALWAYS be quarantined. Its worth it, having a massive bug problem is not fun and usually causes you to have to repot all plants.
Clean the pots in a diluted vinegar solution of vinegar, water and soap. Rinse well. And I have heard that acidic water will help kill and get rid of mealy bugs both stem and dirt
I didn't know root mealy's were even a thing... Definitely learned from this. I do the same thing with my Lowe's / Home Depot succs. Not anymore! Last year I had aphids on my Kalanchoe (spelling??) but so far no mealy's. Hope you got rid of all yours!
I heard every time you cut any of the plans you have to clean they knife or Carter’s because you will infect your plans I don’t know if that’s true or not clean them with alcohol
I am having and have had a terrible time with this stem/root issues (turning off white or brownish pink and not terribly soft but just enough to make you second guess you sanity). I found once I slowed down after become aggravated not finding anything I slowed down and inspected everything! Guess what I found? Fly larvae teeny tiny root larvae for a small fly that lays its eggs in soil next to the plant. Well, those little bastards eat you roots Fromm the inside out and I be damned once I sliced open every base and delta of roots some were hollow but the outside looked perfectly healthy. Oh and some you won’t find larvae because the bastards hatched after gutting your plants roots. But slicing up the roots.....holes everywhere like old Swiss cheese.
Hello love all your videos and succs.. I also live in FL I keep my succulents under my patio umbrella during the summer the sun will scorch them. I learned a lot reading on line and watching on TH-cam Laura eubanks design for serenity, she is the queen along with debra Baldwin, they are the best.. but I love Laura the most she is in Cali . I also notice that some of my succs thrive during the winter that's when they look their bestest to me
i just had the same experience with one of my echeveria that i repotted yesterday, there were not that many but i'm afraid they're also on other succulents. it sucks. :( thanks for leaving the links in your description
You need to clean your clippers after each pot. I learned that a long time ago with my roses. You pass powdery mildew, fungus,etc. from one rose to another. I continually wash my clippers and I use bleach to clean inside of pots and my clippers.
great video but i’m a bit confused? i realize this video is 3 years old so you may not even see this lol. So why would you continue to chop higher on the stem if it already looked okay? how does the damage from root mealy bugs occur higher up stem if it is coming from the roots? in the 9 years i’ve grown succulents i have learned that many things have caused my succulents to (especially rosette shaped varieties) to rot from the stem up. some of that is due to this intense Louisiana heat/humidity, dark colored planters, planters that retain heat, hell anything but terracotta planters lol, not incorporating enough extra draining medium into succulent specific potting mix, over and under watering, or just plain ole neglect. i also had no idea that when succulents throw out roots it was because they were trying to save themselves from stem rot! i thought it meant they needed more water or because they were becoming too too heavy and needed to stabilize themselves with stronger roots. thank you so much for the new information! your succulents are absolutely beautiful. i know it’s hard to behead them sometimes but ive learned to love it! it usually results in more plants, peace of mind because that’s really the only way (for me) to thoroughly check for mealy bugs and tiny caterpillars in those crooks crannies and crevices! fortunately the only pests i’ve battled with on my succulents are caterpillars in the prop trays, and mealy bugs, but i had no freaking idea that root mealy bugs were even a thing!! what the heck?! So again thank you for teaching me some things that i had no clue about!
Hi, yes I was not 💯 sure why the stem looked the way it did. It could have been that the mealy bugs made it weak and more prone to rot. Since then I have not had root mealy. Thank you for watching and supporting my channel 🥰
I’m just curious how many plants you lost and did that stem that you potted up give you anymore babies? I really appreciate you doing this video, I always deconstruct every single plant I buy, wash the pots they came in with bleach, treat all the plants for mealys by washing with soap and cleaning out all the dirt from their roots, then I let them dry for 24 hours and pot them in their new pot with new soil, ever since I did that I haven’t lost one plant, it’s extreme but so worth it because they are only quarantined during this process (24-48 hours)
Thanks for sharing. It was very helpful. I learned today I have mealyrot! Bummer, but now I know. I was wondering what was going on. New to succulents and propagating because they are so easy! Ha! Once you invest, take interest and become attached they become not so easy. Bugs and such! C'est la vie! Learning lots!
I just purchased a succulent arrangement for “Home Depot” and yes the succulent had little snails, slugs and spiders doing great damage to the plants. I broke the arrangement apart cleaned them out, just like u did, and let them air-dry. I’ll replant them but wanted to know if I should used the sand medium, I went to a nursery this weekend and noticed that what they used and plant look great? Not sure.
Ants in your pots could be a good sign. The ants feed off the honey dew the mealy bugs secrete. You should look at the links in the info box very informative.
Do you have any videos where you show in detail how you cleaned all your succulents of bugs? And trimmed them to regrow? Because my succulents/plants are looking a bit sad and I suspect it’s bugs and would love to know how I can save my little family of plants 😭
Hye.. can i ask some questions.. and please answer... why my cactus's thorns fall of??... and theres another cactus where the spikes goes yellow and then browing..
😨So sorry! Wow your plants looked very beautiful in there pots. But I understand what you are doing. Mealybugs love succulents. You are going to be busy this summer 😬.
Thanks for the great info and the link to some great info, definitely learned a lot. Your moonstones are so gorgeous!!! Also wondering if you know the name of the echeveria in the video that you did the cuttings of? It looks a lot like one I’m trying to ID. Thanks again and praying for your babies
Jenny Dougherty the cutting you don’t water until it has roots. The base you can water normally just make sure no water goes into that cut. If you want you can apply would glue so that now water goes into the main stem.
I love your arrangements with the multiple plants. They are so beautiful. Not liking the many individual plants so much. It would be a lot less work to combine like plants to me and more interesting. I plant all mine outside. Less work. And more room for me Why not drench all your plants in an insecticidal soap and get rid of the me-lies once and for all!? Alcohol seems to be a lot of work and not 100% effective
yeah well to late now.... wish i saw this a week ago ... i could have saved my ECHEVERIA (black prince) :( now he is gone.... but i am still learning about succulents...
I totally agree. I would NOT have cut it like that without taking it out and getting a good look at the stem and roots first. And I certainly wouldn't be doing it over top of my other succulents or any other plants if I suspected mealybugs or some other type of pests
Wow! :( Sorry this happened. Hope you are able to save them and have them regrow roots. And very helpful tips to throw away HD soil and really clean out the nursery pots they come in. Luckily I haven't had this problem and hope I never do!!
Definitely mealys girl. When you flipped the crown over, I saw an ant. Those little bastards carry the whit cotton-like mealys to the pant and they feed off of their honeydew(poop). mix water, rubbing alcohol, and dish soap and spray the crap out of it. Succulents can handle this daily if you want to kill them quicky. I just lost my string of bananas and turtles to these suckers!
Mix hydrogen peroxide in water & water the soil that kills the bugs also spray the plants leaves to kill the bugs ,it won't kill the plant,watch a video about it 🤗😊good luck
So sorry to hear about the root mealies. All the lessons you learned will absoloutely help you and your plants in the future. I learned the hard way as well when I spread scale to almost every plant in my collection one time. It takes waaaay more time to treat all your plants if an infestation breaks out then it does to quarantine and check/clean new plants. Your moonstones look beautiful and healthy still so thats wonderful you caught this in time to be proactive with those plants you washed. I hope they all root in well for you and no buggies!
Thanks!
Given To Grow Do you happen to have any pictures of your scale outbreak? I suspect that may be what I have going on but I can't seem find any pictures that look like what my succulents have going on.
One thing I found that helps is mixing a bunch of diatomaceousEarth in with your soil. I have had a root mealybugs for over 10 years and lost most of my cacti collection some plants have had around 30 years. I didn't realize what was happening early on. Every time I think I've got it whooped it will pop up later on. I have resorted to removing all of the soil cutting all of the roots off, dipping the bottom of the plants in insecticide or alcohol. Clean everything like crazy. And repot in soil mixed with diatomaceous Earth. They have only affected my cacti they haven't got on any other succulent until today I found some on the roots of a desert willow. Systematic pesticide malathion has helped a lot but I have only tested it on cacti. It's so hard because the only way to know for sure that they're not there is to remove all of the soil from the root ball so that you can check everything.
Brasstard 7.62 Yes it hard. These bugs are difficult and the humidity as well. Thanks for the tips!
I do have some Bayer insecticide that I spray on my African Violet plants do you think I can spray it on my succulents? I'm new at growing succulents and just got some from Lowe's and I was wanting to spray them.
@@ginarodriguez7899 we use and recommend Bayer's tree and shrub insecticide. We removed all soil from infected plants. Then we do a root dip in the Bayers.Let dry and repot in good clean soil. Many people recommend against top dressing your soil but I use small pebbles as it let's me see more easily if bugs are walking around. But that's just me I don't recommend either way on that. Additionally I spot treat plants with an organic insecticidal soap. Try not to do it more than once a year because I dont want to hurt the beneficial insects that visit. If I see a spider or bee in the area for few days before I don't spray. Instead I separate that plant outdoors and let nature come do it's thing. Surprising what lots of air circulation and a good thunderstorm will remove for you. Come fall though plants have to come inside in my area so some insecticidal soap is necessary.
Top dress all of your cacti and succulents with sand to help keep away the root mealies. Sand as a top dressing also looks great and there are different colors to choose from to compliment the colors of your succulents. I stick with black and the traditional desert color myself.
Awesome advice... Shame I just went to the hardware store last night and got no sand 😢.
Back I go.
Also should say sand retains water quiet well so be very careful, bugs love the moistness.
Had a couple mealy bugs on 2 of my jades. I use Bonide on every plant and they stay indoors but I still do daily inspection. Never can trust that they won't resurface. Your plants are so beautiful and hope you get rid of the pests.
Peggy Lee Thanks 💕
After bring home plants from Home Depot that had baby caterpillars (maybe baby moths even) in the soil eating away at the roots, I use a ton of caution. These things looked like maggots but longer and dark heads. I wanted to die. It was the most disgusting thing I've ever had to deal with. I love the channel Growing succulents with Liz K. She goes through her process of bringing home plants too. Quarantining, removing all dirt, washing pots, soaking plants roots and repotting.
I would have definitely returned them to the store!
Oh I hope you will manage to get rid of the bugs and whatever was causing the stems go that pinkish brown colour from inside.
Good idea to never keep the store soils in which the plant comes and clean well the pots, you can also disinfect the roots if you suspect anything with 3% hydrogen peroxide and also advisable to disinfect the scissors you use to cut the stems, if it's an infection of some type and you cut the clean part of the stem with them then it's infected again.
Sophie S. Thanks
So sad. the good thing is that you saw it quickly enough so you were able to save them. Don't water your echeverias a lot in summer and even your succulents. Moisture and hot weather is the perfect conditions for mealybugs to grow.
Thanks!
Can't you spray succulents with insecticides? Just courious
Yes you can. But if you have mealybugs just spray them with alcohol.
thank you
Thank you for making this video. I just found mealy bugs on some of my new plants! I also will be taking the same cautious steps whenever I bring home new plants.
YES THIS! new plants must ALWAYS be quarantined.
Its worth it, having a massive bug problem is not fun and usually causes you to have to repot all plants.
Clean the pots in a diluted vinegar solution of vinegar, water and soap. Rinse well. And I have heard that acidic water will help kill and get rid of mealy bugs both stem and dirt
Thanks!
Such a shame, mealy bugs have a habbit of just suddenly appearing from out of nowhere :( Good idea to repot, great and helpful video :)
CrazyCactusCollector ants carry them to the plants because they like the juice mealy bugs suck from the plant
That's really interesting, thank you for the info 🌵🌵
I didn't know root mealy's were even a thing... Definitely learned from this. I do the same thing with my Lowe's / Home Depot succs. Not anymore! Last year I had aphids on my Kalanchoe (spelling??) but so far no mealy's. Hope you got rid of all yours!
Hannah Henshaw Thanks 💕
I heard every time you cut any of the plans you have to clean they knife or Carter’s because you will infect your plans I don’t know if that’s true or not clean them with alcohol
I am having and have had a terrible time with this stem/root issues (turning off white or brownish pink and not terribly soft but just enough to make you second guess you sanity). I found once I slowed down after become aggravated not finding anything I slowed down and inspected everything! Guess what I found? Fly larvae teeny tiny root larvae for a small fly that lays its eggs in soil next to the plant. Well, those little bastards eat you roots Fromm the inside out and I be damned once I sliced open every base and delta of roots some were hollow but the outside looked perfectly healthy. Oh and some you won’t find larvae because the bastards hatched after gutting your plants roots. But slicing up the roots.....holes everywhere like old Swiss cheese.
Erin S. Wow!!! ThankfullyI have not had anymore issues.
Hello love all your videos and succs.. I also live in FL I keep my succulents under my patio umbrella during the summer the sun will scorch them. I learned a lot reading on line and watching on TH-cam Laura eubanks design for serenity, she is the queen along with debra Baldwin, they are the best.. but I love Laura the most she is in Cali . I also notice that some of my succs thrive during the winter that's when they look their bestest to me
Brenda Rodriguez Awe thanks💕 Yes I like them too and yes they do well in the winter!
i just had the same experience with one of my echeveria that i repotted yesterday, there were not that many but i'm afraid they're also on other succulents. it sucks. :(
thanks for leaving the links in your description
You need to clean your clippers after each pot. I learned that a long time ago with my roses. You pass powdery mildew, fungus,etc. from one rose to another. I continually wash my clippers and I use bleach to clean inside of pots and my clippers.
Thanks!
Pests on succulents and cactus are a nightmare. I’ve just recently had to deal with an outbreak of spider mite, not fun at all :(
great video but i’m a bit confused? i realize this video is 3 years old so you may not even see this lol. So why would you continue to chop higher on the stem if it already looked okay? how does the damage from root mealy bugs occur higher up stem if it is coming from the roots? in the 9 years i’ve grown succulents i have learned that many things have caused my succulents to (especially rosette shaped varieties) to rot from the stem up. some of that is due to this intense Louisiana heat/humidity, dark colored planters, planters that retain heat, hell anything but terracotta planters lol, not incorporating enough extra draining medium into succulent specific potting mix, over and under watering, or just plain ole neglect. i also had no idea that when succulents throw out roots it was because they were trying to save themselves from stem rot! i thought it meant they needed more water or because they were becoming too too heavy and needed to stabilize themselves with stronger roots. thank you so much for the new information! your succulents are absolutely beautiful. i know it’s hard to behead them sometimes but ive learned to love it! it usually results in more plants, peace of mind because that’s really the only way (for me) to thoroughly check for mealy bugs and tiny caterpillars in those crooks crannies and crevices! fortunately the only pests i’ve battled with on my succulents are caterpillars in the prop trays, and mealy bugs, but i had no freaking idea that root mealy bugs were even a thing!! what the heck?! So again thank you for teaching me some things that i had no clue about!
Hi, yes I was not 💯 sure why the stem looked the way it did. It could have been that the mealy bugs made it weak and more prone to rot. Since then I have not had root mealy. Thank you for watching and supporting my channel 🥰
I’m just curious how many plants you lost and did that stem that you potted up give you anymore babies? I really appreciate you doing this video, I always deconstruct every single plant I buy, wash the pots they came in with bleach, treat all the plants for mealys by washing with soap and cleaning out all the dirt from their roots, then I let them dry for 24 hours and pot them in their new pot with new soil, ever since I did that I haven’t lost one plant, it’s extreme but so worth it because they are only quarantined during this process (24-48 hours)
Crystal no I ended up loosing that plant.
The Succulent Greenhouse oh that stinks
Great day. I remember that someone shared that they put the dirt in the microwave to kill the critters
Thanks for sharing. It was very helpful. I learned today I have mealyrot! Bummer, but now I know. I was wondering what was going on. New to succulents and propagating because they are so easy! Ha! Once you invest, take interest and become attached they become not so easy. Bugs and such! C'est la vie! Learning lots!
Does washing with soap and water clear up the mealybugs? Especially if you take it from the pot and change the soil ?
Yes but I would keep an eye on it After repotting.
I just purchased a succulent arrangement for “Home Depot” and yes the succulent had little snails, slugs and spiders doing great damage to the plants. I broke the arrangement apart cleaned them out, just like u did, and let them air-dry. I’ll replant them but wanted to know if I should used the sand medium, I went to a nursery this weekend and noticed that what they used and plant look great? Not sure.
Great video with lots of information for us beginners, how did you know or what made you think you had bugs in your last batch of pots?
Ants in your pots could be a good sign. The ants feed off the honey dew the mealy bugs secrete. You should look at the links in the info box very informative.
Do you have any videos where you show in detail how you cleaned all your succulents of bugs? And trimmed them to regrow? Because my succulents/plants are looking a bit sad and I suspect it’s bugs and would love to know how I can save my little family of plants 😭
Sorry 😔 about your lovely plants! Looks like you'll be bz but thanx for sharing your info....it had some good info!
Thanks!
Hye.. can i ask some questions.. and please answer... why my cactus's thorns fall of??... and theres another cactus where the spikes goes yellow and then browing..
Ha Yumi Hi, I’ve never had that happen to me, but it sounds like it’s being overwatered.
😨So sorry! Wow your plants looked very beautiful in there pots.
But I understand what you are doing. Mealybugs love succulents.
You are going to be busy this summer 😬.
You wash your succulents with soap? It won't hurt them? There isn't a spray you can spray on them to kill the bugs.
Gina Rodriguez I have tried soap but the bugs are relentless.
Did you wash the roots with the soapy water just the once and did you use washing up liquid to create the soapy solution?
al hashimi yes I washed them only once and I used regular dish soap.
@@TheSucculentGreenhouse - did that root system produce more babies and did this treatment/method work?
al hashimi no it did not produce any babies and yes it did work.
@@TheSucculentGreenhouse - Cool. 😎
Thanks for the great info and the link to some great info, definitely learned a lot. Your moonstones are so gorgeous!!! Also wondering if you know the name of the echeveria in the video that you did the cuttings of? It looks a lot like one I’m trying to ID. Thanks again and praying for your babies
Kellensmomma Thanks 💕 Echeveria galaxy
So informative and helpful! Lots of good info...thanks!
Casey Bruza Thanks 💕
Regular mealy bug I can deal with it... but root mealybugs I really hate them
I had bought some dirt and I will never do that as well.
I'm new to succulents . Once you cut the top of ,how soon do u water it?
Jenny Dougherty the cutting you don’t water until it has roots. The base you can water normally just make sure no water goes into that cut. If you want you can apply would glue so that now water goes into the main stem.
I love your arrangements with the multiple plants. They are so beautiful. Not liking the many individual plants so much. It would be a lot less work to combine like plants to me and more interesting. I plant all mine outside. Less work. And more room for me
Why not drench all your plants in an insecticidal soap and get rid of the me-lies once and for all!? Alcohol seems to be a lot of work and not 100% effective
is there a brand for the insecticidal soap?
yeah well to late now.... wish i saw this a week ago ... i could have saved my ECHEVERIA (black prince) :( now he is gone.... but i am still learning about succulents...
karin lottering I’m sorry to hear that. It will definitely get better.
I have been dealing with root mealybugs, i have lost a lot or plants. I had to used pesticides. I still have them
I hope you can get rid of them!
Claudia do you still have them?
Yes, a few of my plants have them. I use Neem oil AND soap.
I’m sorry to hear that. What kind of pesticide did you use?
Oh my goodness. That was so hard to watch.
I totally agree. I would NOT have cut it like that without taking it out and getting a good look at the stem and roots first. And I certainly wouldn't be doing it over top of my other succulents or any other plants if I suspected mealybugs or some other type of pests
Wow! :( Sorry this happened. Hope you are able to save them and have them regrow roots. And very helpful tips to throw away HD soil and really clean out the nursery pots they come in. Luckily I haven't had this problem and hope I never do!!
Thanks!
If you're a green thumb you are sure to come across this problem at some point! Best you notice the signs before it gets too bad.
Root mealy bug? Good grief, as if palin ole mealy bugs weren't bad enough!
That white thing wasnt nothing it was a mealy bug!
WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST US SYSTEMIC INSECT CONTROL TO GET THE MEALY BUGS IN THE SOIL ?
Definitely mealys girl. When you flipped the crown over, I saw an ant. Those little bastards carry the whit cotton-like mealys to the pant and they feed off of their honeydew(poop). mix water, rubbing alcohol, and dish soap and spray the crap out of it. Succulents can handle this daily if you want to kill them quicky. I just lost my string of bananas and turtles to these suckers!
Mix hydrogen peroxide in water & water the soil that kills the bugs also spray the plants leaves to kill the bugs ,it won't kill the plant,watch a video about it 🤗😊good luck
alfonso ahumada Thanks I’ll look into it!
Just asking, have u tried it and did it work for u? 🙂
Hi, neighbor:-)
Greetings from Korea:-)
Awesome! TFS ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Because you are an Asian, the TH-camr doesn't want to respond to you. I'm very sorry that she hates Asians.
Sterlise your cutter with each cut c'mon...
Thats scary 😭😭😕