When to plant Dahlia Tubers

[GardenGeisha]

I tried to do so, but I almost got rid of myself in the process. I am extremely allergic to organic garden sulfur. It did get rid of the spider mites, but I don't trust that their eggs are all gone, and I still have to heat the solarium on cold nights, and that is when they come back to life.

 

[897tgigvib]

Spider Mites thrive when the air is dry. They like dry conditions.

 

[GardenGeisha]

Yep, I know. I put containers of water all around, but they still thrive in there. Set the solarium plants outside for a bit of sun today. I watered them. Spider mites hate being sprayed with water. But I'm sure they'll be back tonight in the warm solarium.

 

[digitS']

There are several things I do about spider mites in the garden. And, they especially like dahlias!

First of all, I show up in the morning with a special spray nozzle that helps me cover the plant entirely with a strong jet of water. Spider mites are mostly under leaves. If you can blast them off, I figure the tiny things will starve to death before they can walk back to the plants.

Second, after this strong washdown to the plants, I'm back after they dry with something to kill the mites! In the veggie garden that is just Palmolive Green dishsoap at 3 tablespoons per gallon of water. That does a pretty good number on the mites but . . . they breed like rabbits. Or, maybe rabbits breed like spider mites . . . As long as they have those dry conditions, and that could be forever indoors, they are going to be back, and back again.

Some folks with smaller potted plants will completely submerge their plants in that dishsoap/water mix, in a 5 gallon bucket. Protect them from direct sunlight while they dry. No good to kill the plants at the same time as you are killing the mites!

Steve

 

[GardenGeisha]

I've gotten rid of spider mites on jasmine that overwintered indoors by spraying their leaves with a mix of rubbing alcohol diluted in water with Listerine and milk. Had to spray the leaves' undersides with it quite a bit.

Last spring my dwarf Alberta spruce got infested when I set an indoor potted plant out by it, unthinkingly. A spruce expert recommended I set up a sprinkler near the spruce that oscillated, so it would blast the tree repeatedly with water. That really worked, but he says to remain vigilant that spider mites gravitate to Alberta spruces. The water blasts did knock off some needles, but the tree is still alive and looking good. The mites had started to turn the needles brown in a spot the size of a quarter.

Do you think I'm running a risk setting my potted plants outside for sun these warm days, if I put them near tulips, daffodils, and Maximillian sunflowers? Do the spider mites stand a chance of infesting those? Our nights are still around 32-34 F here. Will that kill the mites that remain outside after I put the potted plants back inside the solarium for the evening? Do they gravitate toward any of those plants? Spider mites do love roses; correct? I have the potted plants far from the Dwarf Alberta spruce.

 

[digitS']

Oh, they love evergreens. I think it is one of the reasons they show up in such numbers in my dahlia garden. There was a row of tall arborvitae just across the fence from them - this year, the guy over there has taken them out.

One of the reason I'm spraying soap is because the annual sunflowers in the garden are so attractive to both aphids and spider mites. I don't know about perennial sunflowers and don't think they'd bother the bulbs. Maybe but they are such creatures of heat and dryness and the bulbs die back by then.



Steve

 

[897tgigvib]

Yes, I believe it is a risk.

Until spider mites are locally extinct in your house and garden, most of your plants are at risk.

 

[seedcrazy]

I about lost everything in my greenhouse last year due to spider mites and me fighting them with everything you can imagine. Now I see my brugs cuttings have been getting them again, I just keep yanking them and blasting with the faucet water. But last night I saw some thin spider webs in my greenhouse from a plant I just bought. Grrrr! So guess I'll be out misting the whole stinking greenhouse (8x8) tonight to make sure its nice and moist in there (didn't seem to bother them last year being wet). LOL

 

[lesa]

Do you think ventilation makes a difference. I had my greenhouse closed up real tight- and started to see some problems. I never leave all the glass in, now-and it seems to make a difference. I have lost many,many house plants to those little devils.