haphazard start

[tcamdg]

the fun continues... i've just now discovered what my best guess determines are fungus gnat larvae. they eat roots and stems. they are susceptible to Bacillus thuringiensis, pyrethrin, and squishing.

[tcamdg]

You could try to check out a local gardening store. They might sell cheap little packets that you can use...this is the kind I have used and you can buy them individually or in small packs. By any means, I'm curious to see what you come up with and it would be great to log the success in the forum.

i'll definitely look into it. that would be great if i could get a small supply for pocket change. i think i might go the beneficial fungi and re-potting route to get rid of this contaminated soil/compost.

[tcamdg]

spider mites *seem* to be gone, and my plants are taking on a deep rich green color, kind of shimmering, perhaps from the trichomes. some of the leaves refuse to regain any color or growth...these are the older leaves, and i think i may have burned some of them by placing a light source too close initially. fungus gnat larvae still show up, but i plan on getting some Bti soon for that. i also plan on getting diatomaceous earth to prevent a recurrence of spider mites, and to dust my other plants Just In Case.

there is a fair amount of new leaf growth.

[skagardener]

how are you getting those pictures? really nice pic, and beautiful plants

[tcamdg]

it's a samsung digimax s500 in close-up mode under CFLs. i've been really happy with this camera in general, btw.

and thank you i wish i had a tripod to make the pics even clearer.

i eventually want to try inducing them to flower and produce seed (hopefully after cross-pollinating them with a Luna or something), THEN i'll have a field day taking pics.

[tcamdg]

the spider mites, fortunately, seem to be long gone.

but the fungus gnats just won't die (probably in part because i can't get the soil dry enough...humidity doesn't allow it to evaporate, it seems.) i might try tying a plastic bag around the foliage only, but i also need to contain the fungus gnats. SO FAR, the stupid things are only affecting my two S. divinorums, and i do not want them to spread. i've decided to use Safer's milder pyrethrin+soap insecticide, but i also bought permethrin dust. oh yeah, the B. thuringiensis didn't work. maybe all the bacteria were dead, i don't know, but i can't let these fungus gnats spread to my other plants.

[Paradoxic]

The Bt didn't work? You might try using a higher concentration. But yeah man, those things are pretty relentless.

[tcamdg]

yeah, the Bt didn't work (i ended up scaping off the top inch of soil and discarding it, then zapping individual gnats/larvae with isopropyl. and quarantining the affected plants, of course), but fortunately i haven't seen a fungus gnat near the healthier of my two plants in about a week, and the other plant is quarantined

HOWEVER...as the title suggests, i've discovered yet another pest. cyclamen mites are tiny. you can't even tell they're there unless (a) there are so many of them they can't be missed, (b) you stick your face into the plant to look for them, or (c) you're examining your plant with a magnifying glass

i'm going to use Safer's pyrethrin spray to get rid of them, and hold permethrin dust in reserve (fortunately haven't had to use that yet). i still haven't been able to find a source nearby for the appropriate beneficials

EDIT: [added details, fixed typos]

[JD1stTimer]

The toxicity of each Bt type is limited to one or two insect orders, and is nontoxic to vertebrates and many beneficial arthropods. The reason is that Bt works by binding to the appropriate receptor on the surface of midgut epithelial cells. Any organism that lacks the appropriate receptors in its gut cannot be affected by Bt.

From the Wikipedia entry on Bt.  Did you check the label to make sure it's a type that targets flies and gnats?  If it's for mosquitoes or caterpillars it might not work.

[tcamdg]

it was B. thuringiensis ssp. israelensis (Bti), which is recommended for fungus gnats (and mosquitoes) and is the active ingredient of Gnatrol. granted, there might not have been any living bacteria in the application, but i couldn't let these things wreak havoc on my plants and spread to the rest of my plants while i searched to find a place around here that actually sells viable Bti. the isopropyl worked quite well, actually

oh, and i started off treating for the cyclamen mites by washing the whole plant under warm/hot running water, then spraying thoroughly with Safer's pyrethrin spray. i imagine there will be another outbreak when some eggs hatch, but i seem to have nailed most of the mobile mites

[tcamdg]

here's a shot of a section of stem that looks like a lasagna noodle on the edges. anyone have a clue what causes this? the adjacent section is also squiggly. doesn't seem to be causing any problems, it's just weird

[Arcygenical]

No idea, but my stems are quite similar, so don't worry

[JD1stTimer]

If I had to guess I would say that the plant grew quickly then slowly and cycled like that.  Maybe with strong fertilizer once a month, and plain water in between?  Sally's stem has a twist in it, such that the second pair of leaves are not opposite the first.  It's not twisted all the way up the stem, just at one point, almost exactly 45^o.

[Paradoxic]

Same has happened to some of my plants. Its kinda cool lookin. It doesnt seem to cause any problems, but it seems like it might be another one of Salvia's strange genetic deformities, probably due to the lack of consistent sexual reproduction.

[tcamdg]

i nearly killed this one trying to get rid of the fungus gnats (they're gone, btw), and this is what's left. it's recovering slowly, and i must be keeping the humidity way too high. roots are sprouting 4 or 5 inches above the soil: