How to deal with pests when growing flowers in summer? Identify the type of pest and root it out with the right treatment

As summer arrives, temperatures keep rising, and friends who love growing flowers need to guard against small pests appearing at home. For example, the Kalanchoe blossfeldiana we often grow - what symptoms is it prone to showing? In fact, this is also a problem that many potted flowers are prone to. Today let's talk about it

1. Leaf spot disease

Brown small patches appear on the leaves of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, gradually becoming more and more numerous, and they also spread to other leaves, until the entire leaf dies and falls off. This is the manifestation of leaf spot disease

Cause

Leaf spot disease is mainly caused by excessive moisture in the potting soil and poor ventilation, so to prevent leaf spot disease in Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, you should usually pay attention to cleaning up the decaying leaves on the surface of the potting soil, provide more ventilation, and give more sun in spring and autumn.

Solution

If a potted flower accidentally gets leaf spot disease, and the symptoms are relatively mild, you can spray the leaves with carbendazim or drench the roots, once a week, generally two or three times is enough. If it is too severe, use thiophanate-methyl to spray or water it. Carbendazim is for prevention, thiophanate-methyl is for treatment. In addition, you can also take the plant out of the pot, soak it in a fungicide, and repot it with fresh potting soil

2. Black rot

In summer, when the weather is too hot, many potted plants will get black spot disease, and Kalanchoe blossfeldiana can also get black rot. The black rot area gradually moves upward, until the entire Kalanchoe blossfeldiana plant rots.

Cause

The cause is high temperature, dampness, and too much watering, which leads to black rot of the roots.

Treatment

Black rot in Kalanchoe blossfeldiana develops very quickly. Once black rot of the roots is found, healthy branches should be cut off as soon as possible for cuttings. Some people water Kalanchoe blossfeldiana with fungicides when it gets black rot, but facts have proven that once black rot occurs, no matter how much fungicide you water with, it has little effect.

3. Powdery mildew

Powdery mildew is very common. Many home-grown flowers are attacked by powdery mildew, and it is hard to guard against. The symptoms of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana getting powdery mildew are that some white powdery stuff grows on both the leaves and stems. It cannot be wiped off or washed off, making Kalanchoe blossfeldiana limp and listless.

Treatment

Powdery mildew in Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is also a fungal disease. Once discovered, quickly spray with potassium permanganate solution, and the condition can be controlled. If the powdery mildew is already very severe, you can only use other medications, such as sulfur powder. Sulfur powder is very effective for treating powdery mildew in Kalanchoe blossfeldiana. Sprinkle it on the surface of the potting soil, and at the same time smear sulfur powder on the stems and leaves with powdery mildew.

4. Red spider mite

Red spider mite is one of the most common pests attacking Kalanchoe blossfeldiana. At the beginning, spider webs may occasionally be seen on Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, and at the same time there will be translucent small spots on the undersides of the leaves. At this point you should start checking whether there are red spider mites, and not wait until the entire Kalanchoe blossfeldiana plant has been damaged by red spider mites and is half dead before taking action.

Treatment

If red spider mites are found, you can spray with medication, for example, Huahuashen. In the early stage, one or two treatments can clean them up completely. When the air is too dry, red spider mites are likely to breed, so frequently spraying water on the leaf surfaces of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana can prevent red spider mites.

5. Aphids

Aphids are the most common for those of us who grow flowers. If Kalanchoe blossfeldiana gets aphids, they will densely infest and damage the tender leaves at the top. They also produce flying insects, in large numbers, and are very annoying

Treatment

If there are only a few aphids, you can carefully crush them to death. If there are many, it is best to spray with oxidized rotenone, or use Baichongqing. There are some methods for treating aphids without medication, but they are not very thorough and cannot completely root them out. If you want to root them out, using medication is still more suitable

Besides the above few diseases and pests, Kalanchoe blossfeldiana can also get mosaic disease, leaf worms, scale insects, etc. When caring for it, you must observe more, detect early, and remove early. It is now summer, and rising temperatures will make bacteria and pests active. Giving Kalanchoe blossfeldiana more ventilation is the best way to prevent pests and diseases!