Of Petunias and White Flies

17 years ago

With the threat of our first frost tonight (although I come in to find that they are now calling for 30 with dense fog, so I might dodge another bullet), I went out and prepped my potted plants for the trek inside. Citrus trees came in a week ago, but these are mostly herbs, which I keep in south-facing windows all winter. This year they shared space on the new deck with some new tree roses and a hardy tree hibiscus, which are all in large pots planted with Supertunia petunias and verbena as understory flowers. The Supertunias did beautifully this year, probably thanks to all the rain we had, eventually crowding out most of the verbena. They are now giving off what are probably their final blooms.

Well, as I was moving around among the pots I noticed that, if I disturbed the petunias, I stirred up large numbers of white flies. They were everywhere and had also settled on most of my herbs. Not too much of a problem for the herbs, since I cut all of them down almost to the dirt before bringing them in, so the new growth will be acclimated to the indoors. I also spray everything with Neem oil to knock down pests. But, it was amazing to me how many white flies there were. In the past, IÂve put petunias in hanging baskets, which I didnÂt take down until after they were very dead, so I never noticed if they were on those plants. But, I have had white fly problems in the past on my herbs, when I brought them in and before I learned to cut them back and spray.

So, my question is, has anybody else ever noticed that petunias in pots are a haven for white flies? Is there any way to control them, short of really serious spraying? I canÂt imagine not growing them, since they provide so much color for such a long time, but I am going to ponder my options this winter.

By the way, if you ever do a google search for the plant vebena (just ÂverbenaÂ), do not click on the link near the top that says ÂVerbena HomepageÂ (www.verbenahealth.org). It is NOT what you think. Sure caught me by surprise.

narcnh

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Comments (5)

martieinct
17 years ago
Narc:

Hmmmmm, no problems with white fly in petunias, here. In fact, I have been amazed by the lack of white fly this year. Perhaps some was carried in the soil you used????

Martie, feeling your pain
runktrun
17 years ago
Narc,
I have never to my knowledge had white fly I thought that was a green house problem. I would be very worried about bringing them into the house and fighting them all winter. I am not very successful with house plants (last year being the first year any plants survived the winter indoors. Can they be killed with a few squirts of insecticidal soap? kt
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martieinct
17 years ago
kt - I'm leaping in, here, but white fly is very easy to contain. They do, after all, have just a three day life span so the main goal is to spray for a week in succession to kill any future white fly. Before you bring anything into the house it should be well-doused.

I found them all over my tomatoes yesterday and a blast from the garden house will take care of them until it cools down. WF is very common outside, particularly where there's not good air circulation and on what I would consider "sticky" plants.

Martie
narcnh
Original Author
17 years ago
Dodged another bullet the other night; it only got down to 33F, so we havenÂt have a frost, yet. So, technically, this beautiful weather (77 this afternoon!!) is not Indian Summer for me.

Martie, I think you hit a key point Â air circulation. These pots were totally and thickly covered with petunias, which I would also consider a ÂstickyÂ plant to use your term. There was lots of dead space behind the overhanging petunias, and pots all around them to boot. The combination must have been white fly paradise. You can see how dense everything was in some of the pics I posted earlier that showed the new addition. Lesson: IÂll spread things out more next year.

As I wrote earlier, on Saturday, in preparation for bringing them inside, I cut all the potted herbs down almost to the dirt and sprayed the soil and what little green remained with Neem oil. Because the freezing temps have held off a bit (supposed to stay above freezing at least through this week, the pots are still outside on the deck. I will spray them again today as a precaution. There is always the risk of white flies moving from the fading petunias to the herbs, but thereÂs not much in the pots now for them. Neem oil is great because you can use it on herbs and fruits, you can use as much as you want, and it also controls fungal diseases, like white spot.

Thanks,

narcnh
york_rose
17 years ago
I'm another who thinks the reason you have a whitefly (it's one word, not two) problem is the lush growth you got, plus little air circulation. You will have a problem on your herbs if you don't regularly, and frequently apply pesticide before (& probably for a little while after) bringing them in for the winter. The adults are easy to kill, but the females lay eggs before they die, and the final immature stage before they become adult is almost like an insect pupa (ie., quiescent and kind of resistant to pesticide, like the eggs). You don't get rid of them by getting just the adults you see. You also have to get the next generations already on their way before they lay their own eggs.

Of Petunias and White Flies

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Of Petunias and White Flies

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