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little white specks on stems of fern????

16 years ago

Hi.

I have a couple Rabbit's Paw Ferns and they both have these little white specks on their stems. The plants look healthy (for now!) and I can't figure out which remedy to try. I sprayed them down with water and then I used some soap spray but they came back. They do not move - so I am almost certain they are not a bug. I can't find any on the fronds - just their stems. They are just white dots sporatically here and there. Can anyone identify this?

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Comments (6)

nanw_4wi
16 years ago
It could be possible that your ferns have fern scale, especially if you recently bought them.

The mature males are white and they wouldn't necessarily 'move' when you spray them.

Hope that's not the case!
If it is, and you *did* recently buy them....take them back!

Here is a link that might be useful: Fern Scale
birdsnblooms
16 years ago
Geesh, Nan, I didn't realize there were so many types of scale..
Someone was talking about Citrus scale, which are also white..I don't know if these are one and the same, but they look disgusting..there's a pic w/an infested citrus and boy I'd say it's trash time. (S)

Jen, if your plant is sufferent from fern scale, I'd think about returning it..scale are difficult to rid in the first place. And you don't want to start spraying w/insecticies at thsi stage. Good luck, Toni
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Hi Mike, The specks are not moving and I would say they are fluffy. They are on a random selection of leaves. I checked them again this morning and found one weblike white spot and a couple of tiny black dots (not on the same leaf or even the same plant). I've used the dishsoap water spray for bug problems on my other plants before I had the plumerias and it worked pretty good. I've heard alot about spider mites, but don't know what they look like. I'll try to get a picture in the morning.
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Well, I got curious and found this tidbit here: "WATER: Increased need when root-bound; turns yellow (and dead) when thirsty, brown when over-watered." This site says a little more: First it says: "Over the course of the growing season, foxtail fern stalks dry up and turn brown as they age. It's a natural part of the growing process and there's no need to pull out the plants. As with all perennials, as the old stalks die, they are replaced with new shoots that grow from the roots. In cooler areas, winter frosts may kill all the fronds, but new shoots grow the following spring." But then there's this: "Root rot, a fungal disease that damages the roots, results in dried up, dead-looking foxtail ferns. But unless the roots die, foxtail ferns can recover. Wet soil is the primary cause of root rot. Stop watering long enough to let the soil dry out and cut back and dead-looking stalks." What I take from all of that is that if vegetation is dry it's just old and dead, and if it's browned but not dry, the cause is overwatering. So, when you say you make sure it's dry before watering, do you just feel the surface or do you check soil moisture deep down in the pot? Is it in fine grained water retentive soil? Does the pot have a drain hole? Roots need air, so moisture control is a key factor for any plant's health. Like many around here I use a sharpened dowel to check soil moisture (a wooden skewer or disposable chopstick also works). I push it through the soil all the way to the bottom of the pot and don't water until it's dry to the touch (at which point there's still substantial water inside soil particles that the p roots can access). Then I water thoroughly, let it drain normally, and then tilt the pot 45 degrees to drain out additional excess water and reduce the amount of water that's saturated. I can post links and details if you think it would help...
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tjsangel
16 years ago
You could have whiteflies, which look like tiny grains of rice on the stems and underneath leaves. I had these on my rabbits foot fern, never could get rid of them entirely. Good luck!

Jen
shiver
16 years ago
I had absolutely no idea there were other kinds of scale besides the traditional hard and soft ones. This thread was quite the education----and that fern scale website was great. Thanks for sharing! :)
jennifer1
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you for all your replies! I am guessing at this point that it is fern scale and we are trying a treatment of Organocide. It may end up killing the plant - it's a gamble, I guess. Did I mention I have a Houseplant Store! I have been having trouple with aphids on a Dracaena and some brown patching on leaves of a Aralia - which the Organocide seems to be working on but we have had to do 3 applications. The funny thing on these ferns is that the plant looks very healthy. I took a picture of the white specks with my digital camera. When we zoomed in on it we could see the brown specks. But everything is only on the stems, not the fronds. Thanks again. So many bugs this spring!
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
16 years ago
Jennifer, you should post the images here just to make certain of the identification.

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