Pls help identify! Beginner with mealy/mites/fungus/scale... I think!

[Lozbomb]

Only 6 weeks ago all my plants were healthy, now I have had to discard half of them

my huge Bondton fern, golden palm among others, well established and healthy plants until then.

it started withwhat looked like ash on the soil of my fern, I have since seen a. Idea on root mealy bug which it looked similar to.

I definitely Had some root rot, but now it seems that every plant has something g different wrong with it and they are all struggling

I am wondering if the fungus came from my house as I have had a bit of damp and mold appear lately.

I have attached some images below, would really appreciate any insights you guys can add to help me save what Plants I have left...

As far as I can gather, perhaps incorrectly; the cat palm had scale (picked off with rubbing alcohol by hand and seems much better) The ponytail palm was root bound and maybe a tiny bit of rot -has now been repotted but looking very flat, the Monsteria seems to have the works. but is hanging in there strong (mealybugs, scale and spider mites) the jade plant has spider mites (have seen the webs) and the peace lily has a fungal infection and possibly some rot as a result.

finding it hard to know if I amlooking at mould or mealy bugs, and one common signifier is a ring of white on the inside of the pot just above the soil line, andwhat appears to be mould coming into a freshly reported plant through the drainage holes. (See pics)

thanks so much in advance, very grateful for any insights you can give me

 

[oneeye]

You are working in an environment that is conducive to disease. Are you indoors under lights or using outdoor sun indoors? What kind of water do you use to water your plants with? What kind of potting mix do you use?

 

[Lozbomb]

Until recently they were in the soil they came in. I was originally using regular Sydney tap water and misting the ferns with the same thru summer...
They were inside during the hottest part of the dAy but I’d put them out on the balcony for a bit in the early mornings and for the last 2 or 3 hours of the day..Because we had bushfires here for a solid two months and the air quality was pretty horrific, they did spend a lot more time inside the past summer, with the air con on which may have been the instigator, then they became vulnerable to pests ..?
The crew at our local gardening centre told me it’s been a funny season for random fungi, in particular a red variety

now, I am using filtered water, have learnt lots about which plants wants what and am treating them them accordingly.

 

[oneeye]

Tap water has an alkaline pH to prevent metal trace elements from leaching out into your drinking water. Over a period of time the alkaline pH will raise in the pH in the soil causing the perfect environment for fungus and or pest infestations. That's why I use only rain water or RO water to water all my plants in containers. The rain water is only 11 ppm fresh and filtered is between 7 to 22 ppm very clean.

 

[Lozbomb]

Thanks so much Oneeye! I appreciate that, hadnt come across that tidbit of information as yet! I do try and collect rainwater when I can, but there’s not been much lately, so I’ve watering them with water that’s been run through a Brita filter (activated charcoal) is that any better than tap water?

 

[oneeye]

It may take out some of the impurities but won't change the pH. Another alternative is to purchase a RO filter system for your home if you are a serious indoor gardener.

 

[cpp gardener]

Did you break apart the roots of the ponytail palm?(photo 9) If so, it’s wilting from the damage but will recover (photo 1). It’s very, very drought tolerant and being root-bound is not a problem. For most houseplants it is better to not disturb the roots when repotting, just move them into a bigger pot with new soil around the roots.
The rubber tree (photo 2,4,6 I presume) has/had spider mites,you can wipe them off and treat in your preferred way. The soil in the pictures looks fine, I think the white is calcium deposits from your water, like Oneeye said.
Jade plants (photo 3) hardly ever get spider mites and the spots look like physical damage.
Are the leaves in photo 8 from a plumeria? It looks like it has/had spider mites as well. Treat accordingly.
The philodendron leaf looks like it got damaged as well.
I’m not sure about the root issue or if it’s really a problem.
Most of the plants look okay and should recover with tender loving care.

Happy plant parenting!

 

[Lozbomb]

Did you break apart the roots of the ponytail palm?(photo 9) If so, it’s wilting from the damage but will recover (photo 1). It’s very, very drought tolerant and being root-bound is not a problem. For most houseplants it is better to not disturb the roots when repotting, just move them into a bigger pot with new soil around the roots.
The rubber tree (photo 2,4,6 I presume) has/had spider mites,you can wipe them off and treat in your preferred way. The soil in the pictures looks fine, I think the white is calcium deposits from your water, like Oneeye said.
Jade plants (photo 3) hardly ever get spider mites and the spots look like physical damage.
Are the leaves in photo 8 from a plumeria? It looks like it has/had spider mites as well. Treat accordingly.
The philodendron leaf looks like it got damaged as well.
I’m not sure about the root issue or if it’s really a problem.
Most of the plants look okay and should recover with tender loving care.

Happy plant parenting!

CPP gardener, you little ripper..!
Thank you so much for such a detailed and generous reply, that is a fantastic help.
I hope you don't mind if I ask some follow up questions whilst I answer yours if you have the time to answer...

(Photo 1) Yes you are correct, I did separate the roots of the ponytail, so I am glad to know that it will recover. I found some pics of the Ponytail when he had the worst of his affliction.. – Mold and what looks like eggs (I think?) on the top of the soil and in the drainage holes in the base of the pot. These photos (New images 1-7) were taken March 1st when I discovered this infestation, so I treated it with Neem oil spray and with manual removal of the fungus/eggs and once it seemed under control that's I repotted him which was last week.
My Boston ferns also showed this mold, I had a huge one that I found the mold on only when he began his rapid decline and I had to cut my losses rather than infect the other plants.. (New images 8-11)
- Can you shed any light from these photos as to what exactly the moldy 'eggs' are? - Fungal or pest?

(Photos 2 4 6) Again you are correct! I decided to take action and just repotted the rubber tree last night. I also sprayed the leaves with Yates systemic fungus gun which is meant to kill pests as well.. I also teased apart the roots gently and trimmed away some of the root ball, as he was going into a new pot which was the same size as the last one. (Can't get any new pots right now coz of COVID-19 shutdown)
- Did I do the right thing? If not, can I do anything reverse my mistake?

(Photo 8) Hat trick! Yes this is a Plumeria/frangipani, he has sustained a lot of damage in a short time, I have since removed most of his leaves to try and get rid of the mites, as I did this once before and he came back a lot stronger. I am concerned because he has damage to his trunk which I've only just noticed the last few days. (see pic) His pot is a concrete one without a drainage hole, so I am careful not to overwater it. However I want to look at his roots to see what the problem is but am afraid to pull him out until he looks a bit stronger.
- Can you tell what it is from the phots attached? (New images 12-15) Rot/pests? Is he saveable?

(Photo 3) The jade plant has sustained no physical damage that I am aware of, but I noticed his trunk seems a bit sunken too the last few days and am wondering if it's the beginning of the same thing that has happened to the plumeria? He's a big boy, and I'd hate to lose him.
- Am I imagining things or is there a problem here? Should I repot him too?

***When I went to take a picture of this for you I found that with my iphone zoomed right in, it could see what my eyes cannot.
To my horror, there are scores of what I think must be fungus knats crawling all over around near where the damage is on the trunk base and in the crevices the surface layer of soil. I looked at every other plant the same way and found these critters also on my Monstera. These two and the Plumeria are the only ones I haven't re-potted, it's weird though as the Jade lives outdoors and the Monstera indoors...?

Upon looking at the Plumeria I found things that were flying around the top of the plant when I disturbed it, and I think every kind of pest there is at the top of the leaves. I have started a new thread to show these new images and videos showing the pest problem, so it might help others with the same problem.

I would love it if you could have a look at the new thread and weigh in with your thoughts:
https://www.gardening-forums.com/th...ication-please-extreme-close-up-photos.18233/

Thank you again for taking the time to help me, I am learning a lot already and am so glad that I reached out!

I hope that you all are keeping safe and taking care amidst the uncertainty of the COVID pandemic.

 

[NigelJ]

Fungus gnats aren't usually a problem as they live on fungus in the soil, rather than your plants. They do like damper compost so perhaps you are overwatering a little.

 

[Lozbomb]

I heard that once they run out of organic material, or in droves they will attack the plant roots and foliage, and that seems to be what is happening... Clipped a few rotted roots out from the Monsteria today, definitely haven't been overwatering although I may have in the summer, we had a very strange season because of the bushfires here in Sydney... Not much Sun and they were indoors in the Air con a lot. So I am thinking it started with the fungal infection as seen in the photos, which weakened the plants inviting the pests in...
Just not sure what order to treat those things in, or how aggressive to be about it

 

[NigelJ]

The fungus gnats haven't got the mouth parts to do much to healthy foliage or roots, if there is already decay present then they will eat that softened material. Simply keeping things on the drier side will discourage fungus gnats.
See here for more https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=804

 

[cpp gardener]

From the pictures and video I think the insects aren’t fungus gnats and might be causing some damage to the roots. If you can show the video to a nursery person they might have a better answer. If you can’t, post to the Pests and Disease forum and you might get a better answer.
The white fuzzy looking stuff is a benign organic decomposing fungus and not a problem, I think you overreacted a bit.
The frangipani has a wound and rot setting in. Try to very carefully remove the softer tissue and treat with Captan or maybe lime sulfur. It does have scale, treat with a systemic insecticide or pick them off with a toothpick. I’m not familiar with the fungicide you have. Does it have an insecticide as well?
I don’t see a problem with the jade plant, you could press gently on the sunken area - if it gives, cut out the soft part and keep it very dry.
Mostly you’re doing pretty well, just keep things moist not wet and be patient.