Quarantine questions

[Weaver]

Hello, I am a new member (who still needs to write up a “new member intro”). I was reading Morja’s very helpful thread on thrips and wondered if there is a consensus about how long to quarantine a new orchid? I generally hold for 3-4 weeks but have had a mealy bug issue pop up after releasing a new orchid from quarantine, so I know that can be insufficient.

 

[Tom-DE]

I don't quarantine them unless they are obviously problem plants...what I always do with potted plants is that I check for insects and repot them right away, then spray them with insecticides or fungicides if the problems are presented, but I usually, spray them anyway.
If you do the quarantine, 3-4 weeks time as you said is long enough IMO.
Insects like mealy bugs or scales, especially the young ones will hide between leaves, roots or in the growing media. If you don't take care of them with insecticide at the beginning, they will show up even after the "quarantine"/separating them from the rest of your collection.

 

[Pleurothallidan]

I usually keep things away from my main collection for about a month. If your area is warmer, it can speed up the life cycles of pests making any present infestations more obvious and appear faster. I typically always repot upon receiving a new plant as it lets me thoroughly inspect it for pesky bugs. If I see something emerge within that month, I will treat it accordingly and I don't introduce to the rest of my collection unless the problem is gone for at least 2-3 weeks after the last treatment I do.

 

[Weaver]

Thanks to both of you for your replies. I also repot immediately, but hadnt thought to spray as well. That is a good tip. As is the warmer temps to speed up problems, if there are any.

Those darned mealy bugs were on a Venus de Milo maudiae that had a bunch of tight new fans and I had worried about breaking them off during my repot/inspection. I still have that one separate from the rest of my maudiae’s as every single time I am SURE the bugs are gone and am about to move them in with the rest, I see one more bug.

 

[Ray]

For mealies, the safest bet is a good insecticide - systemic/translaminar is preferred, but not absolutely necessary.

Spray all exposed surfaces of all plants to dripping and thoroughly drench the potting media. Repeat that two additional times at 1-week intervals.

 

[Morja]

Welcome!! Good question.

 

[Weaver]

Thank you Morja! I love your cyp pic, btw. Is that kentuckiense? Or one of the hybrids like Emil?

 

[Weaver]

Thank you, Ray. I need to stop being so hesitant to use insecticides. I appreciate the push in that direction.

 

[Morja]

Thank you Morja! I love your cyp pic, btw. Is that kentuckiense? Or one of the hybrids like Emil?

It's a wild montanum!! I visit them in my old neighborhood in Montana every year if I can. They grew abundantly in my back yard while living there. This particular one was in a roadside ditch! Here's the post I made about it:
Thread 'Cypripedium montanum in situ' https://www.slippertalk.com/threads/cypripedium-montanum-in-situ.56988/
I would love to eventually grow some cyps like you do!

 

[big923cattleya]

With mealybugs, spider mites, aphids, false spider mites and thrips you can go from, “Not a bug insight” to “Full scale Nuclear Outbreak” within a week or so! So many of these guys have a 2-3 week lifespan. They can do a good deal of hard living almost overnight!!!

 

[Ray]

With mealybugs, spider mites, aphids, false spider mites and thrips you can go from, “Not a bug insight” to “Full scale Nuclear Outbreak” within a week or so! So many of these guys have a 2-3 week lifespan. They can do a good deal of hard living almost overnight!!!

That's the damned truth!

Saw this on a pest management site, and it pushed me to get serious:

"Mealy bugs are on the move most of their lives, and since they live for six weeks to two months, just one can cover a lot of plant surfaces. Females mature, lay their eggs, then die. The eggs hatch in five to ten days, or wait longer until conditions are more to their liking. All this means that if just one mealy bug, or one egg sack, survives your treatment, the insects will continue to feed and breed."

 

[Weaver]

Ugh. That is just grim! Well, ok. Insecticide it is.

 

[Tom-DE]

That is why we need to check our plants often...my new wardii got some mealy bugs when I received it, so I repotted and sprayed it with Bayer 3 in 1 right away...three weeks later, I saw a big mama crawling along the spike...I sprayed the whole collection again with pure Merrit.

 

[Weaver]

Hi all, I did my first mealy spray on Tuesday (two days before turkey day). Plan to do the second this coming Tuesday, and then a third a week after that. I did use a systemic, as recommended (outside, with my respirator on). Thanks again for all the good advice!

 

[Tom-DE]

Since systemic insecticide was used, I would wait 3 weeks, then spray again(if necessary). I also rotate insecticides to maintain their effectiveness.

 

[Weaver]

Will do! I noticed some…suspicious stickiness on my Phrag Sorc Apprentice while watering this morning, which is VERY weird as I have had it more than a year, there is nothing even near its orchidarium that is new nor are my known mealies anywhere near the phrag case! They are in a totally different room, in fact. So now I am seeing phantom mealy bugs everywhere .