What might these be?

Controlling pests of bamboo

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boolover
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What might these be?

Post by boolover »

We have what we think is a D. wamin in a 7 gallon pot, although we purchased it from Home Depot as a Budda belly (B. ventricosa). The leaves appear much bigger than a similar size buhda belly, and the culms look more like a typical Wamin.

In any case, I noticed strange pod-like yellow growth or something along lots of branches and some leaves. Anyone have any idea what this could be (see 2 pictures).

Thanks...


Image

Image
Last edited by boolover on Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:07 pm, edited 6 times in total.
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needmore
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Re: What might these be?

Post by needmore »

boolover wrote:We have what we think is a D. wamin in a 7 gallon pot, although we purchased it from Home Depot as a Budda belly (B. ventricosa). The leaves appear much bigger than a similar size buhda belly, and the culms look more like a typical Wamin.

In any case, I noticed strange pod-like yellow growth or something along lots of branches and some leaves. Anyone have any idea what this could be (see 2 pictures).

Thanks...

[img]wamin1.jpg[/img]
Your photo web location/address is incomplete so no photos...you need the full address where the photo resides.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
boolover
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Re: What might these be?

Post by boolover »

Thanks. I fixed the photo locations so that they now render correctly.

Allen
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needmore
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Re: What might these be?

Post by needmore »

I've always called those 'scale insects', not sure if that is correct but my potted tropical bamboo have them, here but my temperates do not. One of those $2 gold colored metal narrow aperture hose nozzles creates a strong enough water flow to blast them off.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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mantis
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Re: What might these be?

Post by mantis »

Yep, scale. Blast it off, and then treat with some of the Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub (or generic) stuff.
boolover
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Re: What might these be?

Post by boolover »

Okay, scale does not sound too threatening. Is this something I should do right away? Is there any imminent danger to the bamboo if I don't act quickly?
ShmuBamboo
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Re: What might these be?

Post by ShmuBamboo »

What you have there on your bamboo is a bad case of scale. Scale and aphids are often times 'ranched' by ants that put them into plants and collect the honeydew. If you have ants, you have to deal with the ants as well as the scale, as the ants will just deposit more scale on the bamboo if you remove them, or spray for them. Note that there are many types of scale insects (over 200 types of soft and armored scale are found in Florida alone).

One thing you can do is scrape the adult scale off with your fingernails. This is time consuming, and you can damage the plants this way. If you have a lot of scale, you are better off spraying scale with a topical spray. Agricultural (or horticultural) oil is a good solution to scale problems. Agricultural oil kills all stages of scales that are present at application, and often gives good control. It is also good for controlling spider and several types of bamboo mites. I use Lilly Miller Spray Oil myself. I have had good results controlling spider mites, scale and aphids with it. I use it in the 'summer diluted spray' rate. I have found that you need to spray bamboos with Oil Spray when the temperatures are below 60 degrees or you can wind up with leaf damage.
Last edited by ShmuBamboo on Sun Jun 20, 2010 8:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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boolover
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Re: What might these be?

Post by boolover »

I have found that you need to spray bamboos with Oil Spray when the temperatures are below 60 degrees or you can wind up with leaf damage.


In central Florida (where I live), the temperature may drop to 60 degrees or less at night, but then often goes well above during the day. I suppose I could wait for a couple of months when the days and nights are cooler, but I'm still concerned that the daytime temps will exceed 60 degrees (even in January). For how long should the temp stat at 60 or less in order not to have leaf damage caused by the oil?

Also, in addition to (or instead of oil), how does the systemic Bayer products work on these scale insects? I've had excellent results with the Bayer product, albeit very expensive. This particular plant is in a pot and I have not used the Bayer in my potted bamboo. However, those in the ground are treated each Spring with a low dosage and (so far), no sign of aphids or mealybugs.

Thanks so much for the great explanation. You as well as others on this forum have been so very helpful with all sorts of bamboo issues.

Allen
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Re: What might these be?

Post by marcat »

With a potted plant blast it and use insecticidal soap its cheaper than bayer and mostly effective against scale. In the ground go with bayer.
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