hi toni,

so I grow passion flower vines indoors but must have one of the grows like a weed types so sorry I cant help.

I wanted to ask you about the ants thing. I put my mom plant outside like a week ago. I noticed today ants all over it. so my thought it the plant might have spider mites or some other pest. I hacked a lot of the plant off and repeatedly sprayed with alcohol water a couple months ago due to mites. ive seen you talking about the fish emulsion in other posts, so I sprayed that one capful to about 20 oz of water. im hoping this works. I also sprayed my two babies that I have indoors. sprayed outside brought in and then right back out lol cant do the smell. so my question is when I want to bring the mom back in, if there are still ants what the heck should I do?

Morning,

Hi Sradleye.

How much sun do your Passionvines get? What about fertilizer?

Oh Lord, those ants!

Did you see spider webs on your plant? What about white, cottony patches or brown bumps?

Ants have been a nuisance 4-5 yrs. In the past, I'd bring plants outside, then once autumn arrived, I'd find an occasional spider or earwig. 'I detest both.' Never found ants insoil, on leaves, or indoors.

Ants have been a major problem. Doesn't matter which soil/medium is used, they find their way inside.

Now, the bad news. Ants and mealybug work together.
They're a team.
Mealy are usually white, and look like cotton patches. They're destructive and infest other plants.

Did you see white patches on plants w/ants?
I honestly hope not. I don't use chemical sprays/systemics on plants. I make a batch of home-made insecticdes.
Although my mix kills spider mites and scale, I haven't yet found any home-made products that kill mealy.

Check your plant/s. Look for white patches, spider webs, or brown bumps that can be scraped off. Inspect upper, lower leaves, stems, soil and trunk.

BTW, what type of plant are we talking about? Do any parts feel sticky?

Let me know if you find any of the above signs...

Fish Emulsion does have a fishy odor, lol. Your plants should be odor-free 2-4 days after spraying, especially since you set plants outside.

IMO, although FE stinks, it's organic. I'd rather deal with a natural product than chemicals that smell like Raid. lol
I can't tolerate the smell of the Geranium that keeps mosquitos away. lol. Although, it too is natural.

Anyway, when you have time, let me know if you see any insect signs.
BTW, if by chance your plant had scale...The FE most likely killed each and every scale.
When I sprayed w/FE, although no signs of scale were present on my plants, I sprayed a second application, a couple weeks later, as a precaution.

Toni

hi toni,

the passion flower ive kept inside for close to two years now. have moved it around from east to south windows. I just put the plant outside a week ago on the porch which has morning direct sun and early afternoon. I have now moved out where it will get full sun most of the day. after just a week the vines have turned more of a purple color and the leaves greening up, although it grew nice dark green leaves inside already. I fertilize with some normal houseplant fertilizer its a 1:1:1. from what ive read you don't really need to fertilize these much if at all. since ive been on garden web I keep reading about the foliage pro fertilizer and ordered some of that. also have put some compost on the top of soil in past.

all I noticed on the plant yesterday (and ive been checking it more closely and regularly since I moved outside) is small brown specs on the underside of the leaves. I know this to be a sign of spider mites as I have had them in the house on my more flowery plants each of the three years ive been keeping plants. year one I had some morning glory vines in here completely infested - through them out, year two had some small tea roses, these eventually died off after fungicide 3, alcohol dish soap sprays, hung on for a while but each of the four plants eventually died. this year on the passion flower, hacked off a lot of the vines and used a spray, I forget the name but I think it was ecosmart a mix of a lot of herb oils. this left some burn spots on the leaves of many of the plants (I usually spray most of the plants just in case there is any spreading)

im also familiar now with scale. umbrella tree at the office badly infested and nobody had any idea what it was until recently. I hacked that down to the trunks and sprayed alcohol dish soap spray on that. figured I would experiment on it and see if it will survive and if not just throw away :( the ants is what clued me in finally to this as well.

I will check the plant thoroughly again later and let you know if I found anything else. I didn't think it was sticky (honeydew )

I know from experience the stephanotis does great outside in the summer. My mother always neglects her plants and last year she stuck her stephanotis under the sun shelter on the patio and it took off and climbed the wall and by late July we had lots of sweet smelling flowers. It was the first time it bloomed in 2 years. This spring I repotted it and stuck it back in the same spot. It was on the patio in the hot sun all day before the sun shelter went up and ever since I put it back in the same spot it's started to take off again and climb the walls. No flowers yet!

In the fall it gets cut back (because the vines are all crazy and wrapped around everything) and we put it in the basement where there are grow lights but it gets put on the floor away from the light and it goes dormant. The leaves turn yellow, some stay green so I give it a little water but for the most part it looks dead.

did not find anything to day on the vines other than the brown specs. seems to be good. I think I will do a fe spray a few days before I bring her in for the year and probably just throw it right in the shower to spray off as best I can.

it seems to love it outside the vines purple and also the veins in the leaves. really pretty. wish plants like it inside as much as I like having them in here lol

Morning,

Hello Sradleye,

Wow, your Passionvine is absolutely beautiful. So symmetrical. Trellis size is perfect.

May I ask the reason you set it outdoors?
Was it the smell of FE? lol

If odor was the reason, it should be gone by now.
Of course, I'm certain your PV loves it outside. You'd rather not keep outdoors until autumn?

Has it flowered the last two-years?

My ex-green PV sowed from seed, lived in a west window..year round.
It grew tall, up and covered the ceiling.
I fertilized a couple times a year..'can't recall which fert I used.'

I have a plant book, 'oldie-but-goodie,' by James Underwood Crocket, original host of Victory Gardens.
He lived in the eastern states. RIP.
Anyway, he advised cutting PV stems back late January
I had no idea pruning was necessary. I wanted flowers/fruit so bad, :) So, I believed pruning would halt flowers growth.
Mr. Crockett suggested pruning 6-inches from soil line late Jan. I never pruned that much. Then again, my PV never bloomed either. :)
He also advised fertilizing 'lightly' every other week.
In fall, when growth slows down, stop feeding and give enough water to prevent wilting.
He was against pinching, because pinching leaf tips could cost blossoms.

Oh, Sradleye..Roses and Morning Glory! I hope they weren't your first house plants.

Roses, minis or standards, grown indoors are mite magnets. So, please don't blame yourself.
Morning Glory can be grown inside, but they need direct sunshine and a well-ventilated, air circulated room.
Otherwise, like other annuals/perennials, they're mite magnets.
As far as MG, it depends on variety. I have 'Blue Dawn', which is a perennial MG..Thank God, it's never had mites or any other pests, but during our cold, grey, IL winters, it goes semi-dormant.
I really should prune down the entire vine, and start over.

Growing annuals/perennials as house plants is difficult. Some plants, eg Coleus, do well, but w/o adequate winter light, they'll get spindly.
I've also sowed dwarf Marigolds indoors..they are super-dooper mite magnets. lol. Marigolds are almost, but not as bad as roses, when it comes to mites.

Are herbs used to kill mites?

Srad..the best way to rid mites is by misting with 2-3 drops of dish soap and water. Two to three times per wk, until mites are gone.
I add other products, too. Red pepper, garlic, Listerine mouth wash. Insects despise the scents from each ingredient, AND none are harmful to humans.
I mix ingredients the night before I plan on spraying. Unless FE is added, the soap, etc will last for weeks.
When FE is included, I toss leftovers within a 24-hour period.
What color are scale on your Schefflera/Umbrella Tree? Brown or white? Hard-shelled or cottony?

When my Hoyas were mealy infested, I sprayed a ton of rubbing alcohol on leaves, stems, trunks.. A waste of time. Maybe if mealy is caught early, RA might work.

Your PV leaves look very healthy and pest-free..no signs of mites. Perhaps you cut back, unhealthy, 'if any' stems and foliage?

Did you find webs? Webbing that resembled the fine weave on your roses???

I know ants and mealy work as a team, but I didn't know ants and scale worked together. Of course, scale is a form of mealybug.

What do brown specks look like? Do they protrude or embedded in leaves? Can they be scraped off?

Oh yes, outdoor sun certainly brightens colors.
Plants love natural sunlight, humidity and fresh air. Summer does wonders for our plants.

Good luck, although, as far as your PV goes, it's doing fantastic.

Hi Will,

You don't know how much I want to summer tropicals outdoors, but ants are a huge problem here.

They're everywhere! No matter, which side of the house, ants have taken over.
Although I despise chemicals, I plan on purchasing ant baits, then, before bringing plants in, each will get watered with vinegar. I did this last autumn. The vinegar didn't harm plants, and very few ants were found.

Will, is your mom in z5, too?
Some plants are better neglected, lol. Especially for people who can't go a day w/o watering.

Do you think repotting is the reason your Steph didn't bloom?
I've heard, 'not certain,' repotting can cost blossoms.
It's true Clivia won't bloom if repotted in spring, and a few other plants, but not sure about Stephs.
I believe repotting before buds are due, halts flowers. Just my opinion though.

Will, what do you mean, 'before the sun shelter went up?'

Did you set the Steph in hot sun w/o acclimating? If not, didn't the leaves burn???

So, you allow your Steph to go in complete dormancy during winter? Wow.
Do stems brittle? How do you know it's alive? :)
Don't think I can do that.

Last winter I set 3 Adeniums and 2 Pachypodiums in very low light, and infrequent watering.

None died, but it took a while before Pachypodiums' leaf grew in.
Worse, my Adeniums have few leaves. Usually, by this time of year, Adeniums are fully leafed, and blooms.

I did the same w/Pandanus/Screw Pine..it's now in plant heaven.

Hope you see the reason I fear forcing plants in total dormancy. :)

Thanks guys, for all the help..Toni

Morning,

Hello Sradleye,

Wow, your Passionvine is absolutely beautiful. So symmetrical. Trellis size is perfect.

May I ask the reason you set it outdoors?
Was it the smell of FE? lol

If odor was the reason, it should be gone by now.
Of course, I'm certain your PV loves it outside. You'd rather not keep outdoors until autumn?

Has it flowered the last two-years?

My ex-green PV sowed from seed, lived in a west window..year round.
It grew tall, up and covered the ceiling.
I fertilized a couple times a year..'can't recall which fert I used.'

I have a plant book, 'oldie-but-goodie,' by James Underwood Crocket, original host of Victory Gardens.
He lived in the eastern states. RIP.
Anyway, he advised cutting PV stems back late January
I had no idea pruning was necessary. I wanted flowers/fruit so bad, :) So, I believed pruning would halt flowers growth.
Mr. Crockett suggested pruning 6-inches from soil line late Jan. I never pruned that much. Then again, my PV never bloomed either. :)
He also advised fertilizing 'lightly' every other week.
In fall, when growth slows down, stop feeding and give enough water to prevent wilting.
He was against pinching, because pinching leaf tips could cost blossoms.

Oh, Sradleye..Roses and Morning Glory! I hope they weren't your first house plants.

Roses, minis or standards, grown indoors are mite magnets. So, please don't blame yourself.
Morning Glory can be grown inside, but they need direct sunshine and a well-ventilated, air circulated room.
Otherwise, like other annuals/perennials, they're mite magnets.
As far as MG, it depends on variety. I have 'Blue Dawn', which is a perennial MG..Thank God, it's never had mites or any other pests, but during our cold, grey, IL winters, it goes semi-dormant.
I really should prune down the entire vine, and start over.

Growing annuals/perennials as house plants is difficult. Some plants, eg Coleus, do well, but w/o adequate winter light, they'll get spindly.
I've also sowed dwarf Marigolds indoors..they are super-dooper mite magnets. lol. Marigolds are almost, but not as bad as roses, when it comes to mites.

Are herbs used to kill mites?

Srad..the best way to rid mites is by misting with 2-3 drops of dish soap and water. Two to three times per wk, until mites are gone.
I add other products, too. Red pepper, garlic, Listerine mouth wash. Insects despise the scents from each ingredient, AND none are harmful to humans.
I mix ingredients the night before I plan on spraying. Unless FE is added, the soap, etc will last for weeks.
When FE is included, I toss leftovers within a 24-hour period.
What color are scale on your Schefflera/Umbrella Tree? Brown or white? Hard-shelled or cottony?

When my Hoyas were mealy infested, I sprayed a ton of rubbing alcohol on leaves, stems, trunks.. A waste of time. Maybe if mealy is caught early, RA might work.

Your PV leaves look very healthy and pest-free..no signs of mites. Perhaps you cut back, unhealthy, 'if any' stems and foliage?

Did you find webs? Webbing that resembled the fine weave on your roses???

I know ants and mealy work as a team, but I didn't know ants and scale worked together. Of course, scale is a form of mealybug.

What do brown specks look like? Do they protrude or embedded in leaves? Can they be scraped off?

Oh yes, outdoor sun certainly brightens colors.
Plants love natural sunlight, humidity and fresh air. Summer does wonders for our plants.

Good luck, although, as far as your PV goes, it's doing fantastic.

Hi Will,

You don't know how much I want to summer tropicals outdoors, but ants are a huge problem here.

They're everywhere! No matter, which side of the house, ants have taken over.
Although I despise chemicals, I plan on purchasing ant baits, then, before bringing plants in, each will get watered with vinegar. I did this last autumn. The vinegar didn't harm plants, and very few ants were found.

Will, is your mom in z5, too?
Some plants are better neglected, lol. Especially for people who can't go a day w/o watering.

Do you think repotting is the reason your Steph didn't bloom?
I've heard, 'not certain,' repotting can cost blossoms.
It's true Clivia won't bloom if repotted in spring, and a few other plants, but not sure about Stephs.
I believe repotting before buds are due, halts flowers. Just my opinion though.

Will, what do you mean, 'before the sun shelter went up?'

Did you set the Steph in hot sun w/o acclimating? If not, didn't the leaves burn???

So, you allow your Steph to go in complete dormancy during winter? Wow.
Do stems brittle? How do you know it's alive? :)
Don't think I can do that.

Last winter I set 3 Adeniums and 2 Pachypodiums in very low light, and infrequent watering.

None died, but it took a while before Pachypodiums' leaf grew in.
Worse, my Adeniums have few leaves. Usually, by this time of year, Adeniums are fully leafed, and blooms.

I did the same w/Pandanus/Screw Pine..it's now in plant heaven.

Hope you see the reason I fear forcing plants in total dormancy. :)

Thanks guys, for all the help..Toni

hey toni,

I put the vines outside because it has not bloomed in two years. figured why not let me just put it outside and see what happens. but from what ive read these are hard to achieve flowers with. im happy with just the purple vines if nothing else.

I think I will hard prune this guy in the winter, maybe not to six inches lol, but quite a bit. just to make it more manageable when I repot. they say repot every year and I get it. I was shocked at the ball of roots on this thing.

it was definitely mites when I trimmed back. the brown specs plus moving brown specs lol. im pretty attentive to the plants so I think now I catch them pretty early. I think it takes a while for the noticeable webs to appear. you can also tell by the leaf discoloration like faded with whitish spots kinda look.

I think alcohol with dish soap and water is the best thing I found so far. maybe the fe. the herb oils were a far better air freshener than pesticide I think. peppermint, clove, thyme, something else.

umbrella tree had brown spots on it. didn't notice any cottony areas

the roses and mg were very early on in my "career." roses were a gift and prompted me to want to grow more flowers. I grew the mg from seed with a light I had for an aquarium (I figured out I liked the plants more than the fish so gave up the aquarium) mg did pretty well in here I thought I eventually transplanted eight or so plants to pots and wrapped them around the wrack I had most of my stuff on at that point. even got some flowers! I knew they were annual so even though It was lame to have to ditch them I was not devastated.

I did also have a coleus in here once. I had one left over after planting my mother's flower boxes for mother's day two years ago. it was so gorgeous I had to try. plant did not fair well here. pretty sure I took it back to her to save it. giggling at the idea of giving my mother a plant to save lol. the running joke when I go home for a visit is "I had to water my plants because I knew you were coming"

Hi Sradleye,

Funny you should say PV's are difficult to achieve flowers, let alone fruit.

Several years ago, Home Depot had very large PV's. 12" pots. They were loaded w/faded and live flowers.
Of course, they were newly shipped from FL.
Other nurseries and big box stores that sold PV were without flowers.

I can't recall if blooms grow on new or old wood.

I think you said, PV's didn't need much fertilizer. Yesterday, I Googled PV's. Most authors and nursery-people stated they should be fertilized every other week in growing season.

You plan on repotting every year? Wow, at that rate, your pot will need 100" diameter. lol.
Maybe trimming roots will help? I'm not a trimmer, so I don' know if trimming will keep PV from outgrowing a pot so often.

You must have 20/20 vision. lol. Most people can't see mites unless tested on a white sheet of paper, or infested, living in a web.

Since soapy water w/RA rids mites, continue spraying with both ingredients.
It's a good idea to spray with soap and water every third or fourth week as a preventative.

Most insects despise the scent of clove, several other spices and hot pepper, too.

As beautiful as mini roses are, I'll never buy another. Ever.
MG do okay indoors, if one has direct sun, year round. I doubt gro-lights in winter have much benefit since mg's are sun lovers.

Is your mom good w/plants? Her comment about watering sounds very familiar. lol.

Throughout our conversations, I still don't know what to do with my Steph and Passiflora. lol.
There's a tag on the Passiflora, but it reads, full sun, bright light, shade. lol. What the heck???
I can't imagine the Passiflora variety would survive in full sun. Leaves are unlike standard PV's. Much thinner.

And as far as summer both outdoors, there's the ant problem!

What do do, what to do? :) Toni

hey toni,

sorry i derailed your thread.

guess i was led astray on the internet as usual re:fertilizing, not that i listened. i pretty much regularly, lightly fertilize everything.

and when i repotted this year i pulled it out chopped off about half the roots and repotted with a fresh and better mix of soil and put back in the same pot. anything bigger and i will be broke (more so than already) plus i wouldnt be able to move the thing.

hopefully that tag means whatevery you decide to with it, it will be healthy and happy

Sradleye, Please don't think you derailed my thread. :)
Who doesn't enjoy talking plants???

Regarding fertilizing..Everyone has diffferent opinions. As long as it's not abused, that's all that matters.

People and plants need energy. Without food we'd perish. But, when over-done.....

Sheesh, yes, pots are expensive. The larger the pricier. Even clay pots sky-rocketed.

Actually, the tag is confusing. lol.

Hi Toni.

Stephanotis are wall climbing trees so I would rather plant them outside. Sorry that this is not what you wanted but if you plant them in a container then they wont survive very long. We have one in our yard doing just fine. First, buy some Stephanotis seeds and plant them in your garden. I would dig about 2 inches deep and plant them in there. Once covered, I would water it with soft water for a few days. Once you see the stem merging out, it can take more water. Keep watering the same amount every day until it is about 1 feet high. It should be climbing the wall but you will have to but you will have to buy something that sticks onto the wall and have a hole to let the vine be strapped onto a piece of string of some sort. You will need about 100 because once it gets bigger, it will be able to reach 7-9 feet wide and the same for vertical. Also, you can now water it more. Once you see some pulps growing, they have seeds inside. They should be green and once they are as big as your hand, you will have to wait until they are tannish-brown. Once they crack open, there are seeds inside (the brown flat circles. Now you can plant more than 1 and the cycle starts over again.

Sincerely,

Jool

This is an old thread so I don't know if anyone will see this. I have two different types of passion vines. They both sit in my north facing bay window and both seem very happy. The older variety has small thin leaves and flowers for me yearly. The newer addition has large robust leaves and has yet to flower. My question is both vines seem to emit small droplets of a sap type substance. Specially the older plant. Recently I found what looks like scale on the newer one. I'm wondering if the sap is a result of the scale or does PV normally just do that. Also is scale a death sentence or can I cure it?