whiteflies on hibiscuses in the house

15 years ago

In early October, I brought in 2 hibiscus plants that had been outside for the summer. Before bringing in any of my plants, I treated them with "systemic houseplant insect control" (dy-syston) on the recommendation from my local greenhouse. (This is a powder that I put in the soil before watering the plant thoroughly.) All seemed to be fine until a couple of weeks ago, when little whiteflies appeared on the 2 hibiscuses. No other plants, not even a smaller hibiscus, seem to be affected. However, the large hibiscuses were covered in flying insects. Every time I brushed up against the plant, hundreds of little puffs of white started flying around. So I sprayed the plants with an insecticide that said it was safe for indoor use. It worked for a while. Then I treated with a new spray when the bugs multiplied again: active ingredients are sulfur and pyrethrins. Then I retreated with the di-syston a few days ago. When I saw a whole bunch of little bugs on the leaves of one of the plants last night, I sprayed again with the new spray. The 2 large hibiscus plants have lost nearly half their foliage and they have ceased flowering. (the smaller hibiscus is still flowering, though, and has no signs of pests.)

I am getting concerned at this point that perhaps I have poisoned the plants with all the insecticide. I gave many of my other plants a strong shower in the sink tonight, but these 2 hibiscuses are too heavy to move to the bathroom where I could hose them down. (they are nearly 4 feet tall in their pots.) It's too cold outside to hose them down out there. Should I worry about the whiteflies going after my other plants? (I have lots of peace lilies, other lilies with red stalks, several philodendrons, and a large begonia)? What can I do to eradicate these pests once and for all?

Any suggestions?

Comments (4)

tsmith2579
15 years ago
Bayer Advanced Garden (Power Force)Multi-Insect Killer. Spry them well. I sprayed everything a few days before I put the plants in the greenhouse and again after I filled the greenhouse. So far I am still (relatively) bug free. It has a somewhat sweetly pleasant odor.
kat123456
Original Author
15 years ago
Ok, so the whiteflies are nearly gone. I only saw one flying in the kitchen today, and no others on or near plants. However, those hibiscuses look SO SICK now. They have lost 75% of their leaves. They turned a spotty yellow first, and then just fell off. I finally took them up to the bathtub tonight and gave them both a shower to clean off the remaining leaves (just in case there are bugs). Should I be worried that the plants seem to be dying?

No other plants in my house seem to have been affected, and my smaller hibiscus has only dropped a couple of leaves lately and currently has about 8 blooms on it, so it seems healthy.

Should I prune them back to a smaller size and let the plants grow back from a smaller size?

I have now relocated the plants to my upstairs office (lots of light), since I could not carry them back down the steps after their 'shower'.

Can anyone offer suggestions about what to do with these?

Thanks!
Kat
sandy0225
15 years ago
Just leave them alone. They will grow back leaves, don't prune them unless you actually want them smaller. Plants drop leaves due to stress, bug attacks, etc. They grow new ones.
Maybe it's good that they lost their leaves. Often when I spray brugmansias that are really infested, we pick off all the leaves so that you can actually get all the bugs off. Then they grow back clean. They just look bad for a little while first!
kat123456
Original Author
15 years ago
too late... I actually returned them to Lowe's, after having doused those plants with more sprays than anyone should ever use. My smaller hibiscus has a few white flies, too, but I sprayed it and put it in a clear plastic bag, so I will wait and see if the bugs finally die.