Glad to here from you Russ. The wife seems to be doing better. The stint she had in her hart is not giving her as much pain. I have been told by the doctors that she can only do short walks. So I keep my mouth shut about exercising. I build a nice hope chest for a friend of the family who was asked to get me to do it for an other lady who's daughter is getting married. I still have one dahlia that was started at the end of last season. I have cut it back twice to keep it in check. I have about 50 tubers started so far for the spring. My out side date is May3. I hope to have blooms by that date. Drives neighbors nuts. They go out to box stores in droves. Husbands go by house an give me a salute ( I think that is what they are doing).
Again glad to know you are alive and no serious problem. Dahlias can be replaced your helth can not.

Those spider mites are totally evil. There is a hydroponics store near my house though that orders in predator mites. Since my house plants have them I will give them a try. I'll let you know how they do. The only other choice is to shower off plants regularly, which is what I've been doing with the unique impatient plant I got from a city worker at the end of the season last year.

Russ, so sorry to hear of the mite vs dahlia war. How frustrating that would be after all your hard work and careful planning. Next year, it will be better. I think you have a good plan B underway and, if it's any consolation, I'll still be planting out at the time you hope to have blooms. It's always something, isn't it?

Sorry to hear about the tubers, but I think you may have just saved my plants! (Or at least I hope it is not too late!)

I brought in one plant last year, and a bunch of tubers. I started the tubers growing again in January, because they wehre so tiny I did not think they could take the fully winter storage. The main plant I brought in and kept growing on, has been acting really weird the last month or so. It keeps looking scorched! The leaves keep dieing. It does not wilt, or give any other sign of lack of watering, and is in the same window it always has been, and the new plants are.

I can't see any mites, nor can I see any cob webs. (I have detected them before on houseplants in many many years past, so I know what to look for).

But, I am going to go on the side of caution, and dug up the plant, kept the tubers, threw them in a mild bleach solution, and got the soil out of the house!

Hopefully, if it is mites, I did not just unleash a lion on my other plants! Anyone recommend some mite treatments?

I found out about the predator mites and they are 80 bucks for 1000. Each mite will eat 30 spider mites a day, and the eggs, however that is a little pricey. I'll try and find a few other friends in Winnipeg with this problem to split the order with, or just keep showering them weekly.

Hiya Russ-

My condolences as well. It'd very disturbing when one puts that much effort into a project only to have it fail. By the way, I read somewhere that Canna leaves have insecticidal properties....although I can't imagine you would want to fill a home vs a greenhouse with smoldering canna smoke!

Lucinda

Russ, I am so glad you are back. I feel so badly for you. I know how you feel as I am the mad woman who flies out the door with covers for dahlia plants when they are young so they don't get too much rain and covers in the fall so I can have them one more day at frost time. I also heard of the preditor mites and how would we get rid of those after they have eaten our mites? They would still be hungry? What do you do, go around and collect them? Just kidding. Again, glad you are back.

Russ this is just to inspire you on what well be walking through your garden this summer. You can see the lust for dahlias in her eyes.
{{gwi:635154}}

Hey Russ,

Good to hear you're still out there. There's definitely something about the Dahlias that spider mites enjoy so much. Even though you lost the indoor war with them, your experiment was very cool. That setup looked perfectly built. If it makes you feel any better, my heart is broken every year around August when the spider mites run amuck in my dahlia beds. I just try to take the good pictures when I can. I think last year, I cried to poochella about it. When you see that first bloom this year, you'll forget about the sorrow and want to do it all over again.

The lesson to be learned from this is that one should not mix growing cuttings with keeping over plants through the winter.
Green houses have to be kept meticulously clean and must be washed down with bleach or another cleaning solution to eliminate disease. Adult plants bring with them all of the diseases that they have acquired throughout the growing season. Introducing an infected plant into your indoor green house has brought in numerous pests.

I have even had trouble with taking cuttings from plants that were growing outside. In the Fall they have been exposed to numerous fungus spores and they usually succumb to fungus before taking root.

Pdshop, when the predator mites run out of food, they die of starvation. This is why I'm debating whether to pick them up now or when they can go outside. My worry with outside is the idea of introducing a bug that is not native and having it go wild and take over the universe. I also saw a company called biconet sells the mites, $30 for 1000 but can't find any info on the reputation for that company.

I also saw the Bionet ad. I must have bought things from them. They should have a good writeup about themselves. I agree with you about adding more bugs. Whoever started that beetle that eats our lilies should be shot. That's a bit harsh but you know what I mean. I still can't see the gound so have no idea what the voles have done. They are my bigget pest and cut the 5ft. dahlia stalk right off at the stem!

What I would like to know is, who are these people counting the predatory mites, "shew" make for a long day huh?
The only thing I find that works on dem little creatures is spraying them down well twice a day, once late morning with a fast but not harmful to your plants, hard spray & then again mid afternoon in the sun. They drown in very little moisture, that's why they are so active when the sun is shining, they can't live even in due drops. The secret is to be vigual about this, you can not skip even one spray. You must spray top & bottom, stems & even the ground very well. I live on the side of a mountain facing south east so the sun dries the plants pretty fast to avoid fungal isues. You may have to repeat for 2 weeks even, I have but it does work. They will come back but usually they stay away long enough as to enjoy many blooms,then you just start all over again. The colonys get smaller & smaller & by mid season they are toast. I have over 1,000 dahlias. I grow to sell cuts at local farmers markets & wholesale florists, they pay the bills so this works well for me. I have a seperate garden well, it uses a lot of water. Also I gather praying manthis cocoons from the property & place them in the dahlia garden. Good luck!

I found a Canadian company that also sells predator insects. I think this summer lady bugs will be added to my garden as aphids are a nuisance.
http://www.naturalinsectcontrol.com/company.html

I was also bad today and bought Arabian Night Dahlia, loved it last year and the tubers didn't make it. Plus some mixed colour bags with Dahlia's glads and something else.

Firstly, thanks so much for all the discussion about the little beggers. I whole-heartedly concur with Ted that bringing in that fully growing plant was probably my biggest mistake. Equally, using the soil that came out of the 4" pots that the Dahlias had grown in all summer was another one.

I'm not completely convinced that dusting or soaking the tubers in some solution is mandatory, but I'm certainly leaning in that direction. This fall all that work will be done out-of-doors and the tubers will come in clean, and into new clean soil.

Meanwhile, I have just had a great conversation with a woman at the company whose link is below. They are Canadian sellers of natural pest controls, including mite predators. While I too am concerned about letting things lose in the wild, I'm going to trust someone else in this case as I can only have so many areas of expertise...;-]

She has recommended that I get 2000 predators in vermiculite to cover my 90 sq.ft. of trays indoors. She said they can go on after the tubers are planted, as long as its not too long after (e.g. days are fine.) The predators cannot be stored and should be used as soon as received.

She has further recommended that I get another 2000 during the week (or so) I am going to be taking cuttings, as stress is another factor in mite growth.

Predators like 75F (23C) and ~65% humidity.

I will get some more when the plants go in the ground outside.

Cost is C$45 for 2000, plus a C$12 shipping charge. So that's very reasonable considering I'm trying to keep some C$600 worth of tubers from going to waste.

I'll let you know how it goes. She did recommend I completely scrub everything and try and ensure I've gotten rid of as many ahead of time as possible. That sorta made me laugh...if they can't overcome mites that are there...what use are they? But ok, I'll give them as much of a leg up as I can.

Every other plant in my house is still being tossed, including the soil, and all planters thoroughly cleaned just in case.

Cheers,
Russ

http://www.naturalinsectcontrol.com/catalogue/getprod.cgi?1023A1

Russ, that sounds like a #$%^$load of mites. The guy at the hydroponics store tells me each predator eats 30 a day, plus eggs. I figured 1000 would be good enough to spread between me and 10 of my friends, and take care of the problem in a few weeks, especially in the house. Let us know how it works!!

I'm also reading about companion planting and Nasturtiums will deter aphids and there are some garlic sprays that can be used on the mites.