Confederate rose whiteflies

13 years ago

My confederate rose has been suffering (and I do mean suffering) with whiteflies for the past two seasons. I thought they were living in the mulch (spanish moss), so I took all the mulch up this year, but I still have them. This is its third season, and the poor plant is only three feet tall, with only 5 stems. I tried malathion, but the best so far has been to spray it heavily with soapy water, especially the back of the leaves where the flies are. Is there any type of preventative I can spray before I get them next season? If and when the tree does start to get bigger, there is no way I can spray the bottom of all the leaves to get rid of the flies, so if anyone knows a way to head off the whiteflies, I would appreciate it. Thanks for your help.

Comments (3)

wodka
13 years ago
I have a confederate rose that is in its second year and it is about 5-6 feet tall and quite wide. I'm counting the days for its blooms. I thought I had cut it back too far last year but it came back.

Re: your whiteflies problem. I googled and there are several sites that address it. Here is some info from one of them: "Confederate rose can be plagued by insect pests such as white flies, scale insects, weevils, and caterpillars. If the infestation is severe, spraying with an insecticide approved for hibiscus and recommended for the particular pest may be necessary. Systemic insecticide drenches or granules that are applied to the ground and absorbed by the plant's roots are sometimes useful in the battle against persistent pests."

Good luck!
nandina
13 years ago
Time for some detective work. Whitefly needs an alternate host to reproduce. This means that three years ago you introduced a new plant into your garden which is the host plant. Do a Google search for, whitefly + host plants. Read through those listed and with a bit of reading and searching you should be able to figure out the offending host plant. Remove it (them) and your problem will be solved. Hopefully it is not one that your next door neighbor planted. Then you have a problem. Should this be the situation the best solution I know for whitefly is to fill your hose end sprayer with lemon detergent, the type that does not contain any degreasers or antibiotics. Just the basic, cheap lemon detergent. Set the dial on 3 tablespoons per gallon. Early every morning spray the infected plant(s) with this. Done faithfully every day it will control whitefly damage for 24 hours.
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jaymo49
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanksfor the good ideas, Wodka & Nandina,
I got some of the systemic drench that is supposed to help whiteflies, but it didn't help yet... I think I'll try it at the beginning of next season before they get going. I remember reading that variegated ligustrum is a host plant for whitefly. I have one of those in my front yard (confederate rose is in the back). I'll try the drench and the lemon dish soap next year, I may have to give up on the confederate rose....