Tips for struggling English Ivy
For anyone who remembers my previous posts about my English Ivy I thought I’d share some photos. So the spider mites are 100% gone (yay) however I think there’s still an issue that I can’t seem to figure out. Honestly now I might be worried that root rot is another issue? There isn’t really any new growth since the spider mites were gone weeks ago and I’m slightly worried… my original idea was that there wasn’t enough humidity but now I’m thinking otherwise. Tbh it’s not looking terrible just kinda bare and again, no new growth in sight, the original new growth turned brown. Any tips? #EnglishIvy #RootRot #help
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@Nature_freak9 I don’t actually see many brown leaves, or are those leaves gone?
After battling a pest like spider mites, you’re going to have to accept that your plant isn’t going to suddenly starting pushing out new growth. If it’s only been a couple weeks all you can do is give them good conditions, in a stable environment, and good care, and not to put high expectations on them. What did you use to treat spider mites and how long did the treatment last? It is normal to expect to see no new growth for a while, while they recover from the shock and infestation.
However, your soil does look a bit heavy. Next time you repot it might be helpful to add more aeration ingredients (like perlite, pumice, orchid bark, etc) to ensure the soil is well draining.
After battling a pest like spider mites, you’re going to have to accept that your plant isn’t going to suddenly starting pushing out new growth. If it’s only been a couple weeks all you can do is give them good conditions, in a stable environment, and good care, and not to put high expectations on them. What did you use to treat spider mites and how long did the treatment last? It is normal to expect to see no new growth for a while, while they recover from the shock and infestation.
However, your soil does look a bit heavy. Next time you repot it might be helpful to add more aeration ingredients (like perlite, pumice, orchid bark, etc) to ensure the soil is well draining.
@DreamMachine yeah I trimmed off some of the brown dried leaves, it wasn’t many though. I used a mixture of rubbing alcohol, water, and dish soap and it got rid of the spider mites well. The treatments were across a span of ~3 weeks and I was spraying the solution every 3 days or so, and that killed off the mites.
I’ll repot it once it seems to be stable again, I’ll definitely take your advice and add some aeration ingredients to the mix. thank you!
I’ll repot it once it seems to be stable again, I’ll definitely take your advice and add some aeration ingredients to the mix. thank you!
@Nature_freak9 ooh that’s a harsh mixture. I’m actually surprised your ivy looks as good as it does. 😲Both rubbing alcohol and dish soap will kill mites… but they will also dissolve plants protective waxy cuticle, which helps defend themselves against pests. It won’t grow back. Every 3 days is good, but I’m sorry to let you know that spider mites require 6 weeks of treatment to fully eradicate. 😔 They are VERY good at hiding, and it only takes one pregnant female to continue and repopulate your plant 😑
I would recommend a further 3 weeks of treatments every three days. Spider mites are one of those pests that people think they keep getting new infestations, but are unaware that they actually never got rid of them fully in the first place.
Do you have access to neem? A good pest treatment that will eradicate the mites AND not hurt your plant is a mixture of:
-1 Tablespoon pure neem oil mixed with:
1/2 teaspoon Castile soap, in
-32 oz (4 cups) water
Use this to spray your ivy thoroughly, tops/bottoms of leaves, stems, petioles, everywhere. Spray until it is dripping off.
Be sure to keep your plant out of direct sun during treatment, as the neem can make them sensitive to sunlight. Good luck, and you can totally reach out and tag me if you have any questions or need any support. I am happy to help ♥️
I would recommend a further 3 weeks of treatments every three days. Spider mites are one of those pests that people think they keep getting new infestations, but are unaware that they actually never got rid of them fully in the first place.
Do you have access to neem? A good pest treatment that will eradicate the mites AND not hurt your plant is a mixture of:
-1 Tablespoon pure neem oil mixed with:
1/2 teaspoon Castile soap, in
-32 oz (4 cups) water
Use this to spray your ivy thoroughly, tops/bottoms of leaves, stems, petioles, everywhere. Spray until it is dripping off.
Be sure to keep your plant out of direct sun during treatment, as the neem can make them sensitive to sunlight. Good luck, and you can totally reach out and tag me if you have any questions or need any support. I am happy to help ♥️
@DreamMachine I did check my ivy thoroughly and didn’t see any signs of spider mites, however based on what you said I will take the precaution and continue treatment just in case. I don’t currently have neem but I’ll see what I can do. I was recommended by many sources both online and in person that the rubbing alcohol+dish soap+water solution was great, I guess they weren’t completely correct 😭💔 thanks for the help!
@Nature_freak9 it’s really unfortunate that there is so much misinformation out there in regards to plant care. Part of why I love Greg so much is that you can get someone with experience (or knowledge in chemistry) to tell you the truth. It really astounds me that rubbing alcohol is recommended *everywhere*. I once burned almost my entire collection with it from a recipe I found from a plant-fluencer (who I’d found later was not as experienced as I thought!) and then dish soap is a detergent. Its job is to powerfully strip oils and grease away, so it also does that to our plants natural oils.
If you don’t have neem, see if you can get some Castile soap (I use dr bronners peppermint) until you can get neem.
The recipe with only Castile is
1 Tbsp Castile
32 oz water
If you don’t have neem, see if you can get some Castile soap (I use dr bronners peppermint) until you can get neem.
The recipe with only Castile is
1 Tbsp Castile
32 oz water