Parasitic wasps vs. whitefly
 

Hi, Group -

I am in So.Calif. coastal - 24/8 I think.

Question about whitefly on hibiscus.

Some ? 8-10 years ? (lost track) I bought some pretty expensive
hibiscus from the Huntington at their annual plant sale.
The huge blooms are gorgeous, but the plants are infested with
whitefly and the leaves are disgusting.

Have had nothing but *+^%(_#(*&^% with these plants.
Nothing works - not daily spraying, not mulching
with worm castings, not those little sticky cards --
not even even a recent -- very reluctant -- dose of Malathion.

The Huntington told me their hibiscus are free of white fly because
about four years ago they acquired "parasitic wasps" from the "UC
Riverside Program". (Putting their actual words in quotes.)

Before approaching UC Riverside, may I ask the group:

Can a mere civilian gardener get/manage those wasps?

Would they wander around and sting me?

I'd be very grateful for any experience.

I'd hate to tear out these mature plants, but enough is just about
enough.

Thanks in advance!

--

Persephone

In article ,
says...
:)

:)
:) Question about whitefly on hibiscus.
:)
:) Some ? 8-10 years ? (lost track) I bought some pretty expensive
:) hibiscus from the Huntington at their annual plant sale.
:) The huge blooms are gorgeous, but the plants are infested with
:) whitefly and the leaves are disgusting.
:)
:) Have had nothing but *+^%(_#(*&^% with these plants.
:) Nothing works - not daily spraying, not mulching
:) with worm castings, not those little sticky cards --
:) not even even a recent -- very reluctant -- dose of Malathion.

You will have better luck using an insecticide that would be systemic,
it will be taken up into the plant tissue.

:) The Huntington told me their hibiscus are free of white fly because
:) about four years ago they acquired "parasitic wasps" from the "UC
:) Riverside Program". (Putting their actual words in quotes.)
:)
:) Before approaching UC Riverside, may I ask the group:
:)
:) Can a mere civilian gardener get/manage those wasps?
:)
:) Would they wander around and sting me?
:)
The wasps are tiny things, you would never be bothered by them. You
should be able to find them at "natural gardening " type stores.
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/wh...-parasite.html
:)
:) --
:)
:) Persephone
:)
:)
:)

--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

aspasia expounded:

The Huntington told me their hibiscus are free of white fly because
about four years ago they acquired "parasitic wasps" from the "UC
Riverside Program". (Putting their actual words in quotes.)

I have no tomato hornworm proglem because of parasitic wasps. They
just appeared in my garden, however, I didn't introduce them.

Before approaching UC Riverside, may I ask the group:

Can a mere civilian gardener get/manage those wasps?

Of course you can.

Would they wander around and sting me?

I doubt it. They're very small, and not interested in territory
issues like their larger cousins. I have never been bothered by any
wasps or bee-types of any size in my garden, except for hornets, both
yellow jackets and white-faced.

--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

"aspasia" wrote in message
...

Hi, Group -

I am in So.Calif. coastal - 24/8 I think.

Question about whitefly on hibiscus.

Some ? 8-10 years ? (lost track) I bought some pretty expensive
hibiscus from the Huntington at their annual plant sale.
The huge blooms are gorgeous, but the plants are infested with
whitefly and the leaves are disgusting.

Have had nothing but *+^%(_#(*&^% with these plants.
Nothing works - not daily spraying, not mulching
with worm castings, not those little sticky cards --
not even even a recent -- very reluctant -- dose of Malathion.

The Huntington told me their hibiscus are free of white fly because
about four years ago they acquired "parasitic wasps" from the "UC
Riverside Program". (Putting their actual words in quotes.)

Before approaching UC Riverside, may I ask the group:

Can a mere civilian gardener get/manage those wasps?

Would they wander around and sting me?


The Huntington may be referring to Encarsia formosana, which are
parasitic on white flies. I have used these myself, buying them from
Biocontrols. In my climate, they don't survive the winter, but in your
climate they may and might become permanent residents. These insects
are very small, not much bigger than the white flies themselves, so
they will never bother you. They do their work silently. Actually,
they will never completely eliminate white flies - after all, if they
did, they'd have no food. However, holding the population to a dull
roar will be sufficient for the task.

Guy Bradley
Chesterfield MO
zone 6

aspasia wrote:

Hi, Group -

I am in So.Calif. coastal - 24/8 I think.

Question about whitefly on hibiscus.

Some ? 8-10 years ? (lost track) I bought some pretty expensive
hibiscus from the Huntington at their annual plant sale.
The huge blooms are gorgeous, but the plants are infested with
whitefly and the leaves are disgusting.

Have had nothing but *+^%(_#(*&^% with these plants.
Nothing works - not daily spraying, not mulching
with worm castings, not those little sticky cards --
not even even a recent -- very reluctant -- dose of Malathion.

The Huntington told me their hibiscus are free of white fly because
about four years ago they acquired "parasitic wasps" from the "UC
Riverside Program". (Putting their actual words in quotes.)

Before approaching UC Riverside, may I ask the group:

Can a mere civilian gardener get/manage those wasps?

Would they wander around and sting me?

I'd be very grateful for any experience.

I'd hate to tear out these mature plants, but enough is just about
enough.

The wasps were released to control ash whitefly, which were
defoliating ash trees as well as attacking other plants. These
wasps have spread throughout southern California. If they are not
controlling your whitefly, then the whitefly on your hibiscus is a
different species.

I suggest you feed the hibiscus with a granular rose and flower
food that contains a systemic insecticide.

--

David E. Ross
URL:http://www.rossde.com/

I use Mozilla as my Web browser because I want a browser that
complies with Web standards. See URL:http://www.mozilla.org/.