Hi everyone, I recently noticed a large infestation of black aphids on an ivy plant my parents gave me. They kept it outdoors and I brought it inside for the winter. I used an oil/water/soap mix to kill the aphids and it seemed to have worked well. Now I have all this white stuff growing on the soil and my leaves are dropping at an alarming rate. I would love to save this plant. Is there anything I can do? I'm not sure if it's mold or some sort of webbing. Any help would be greatly appreciated! ( photo / image / picture from grkprncss30's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from grkprncss30's Garden )
( photo / image / picture from grkprncss30's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from grkprncss30's Garden )
Hmmm, Looks a bit like mildew? Maybe you should re-pot the poor thing, and when weather permits, put it back outdoors. I'm no expert with Ivy. They either do real well, or they dry up and die. They are very susceptible to pests too. Good luck
I agree with Kay--re-pot it. But I would scrape off the white stuff and spray the clod with a solution of milk and water. I would use a 10-20% parts of milk to 90-80% water mixture. There are no guarantees here, but it believe you have a chance of saving the plant. Good luck, and keep us posted with the progress.
It could be mealy bug. He should check it out before he repots or it will come back. Fungus can be brought in by insects. Anytime you see mold stuff you should also look for bugs. If it is mealy bug a lil alcohol will take care of them.
I'm going to plump for mildew as mealy bugs tend to leave their 'mould' on the plants themselves not on the soil.
eileen, Go search, "Root mealy bugs!". I had it once in Creeping Charlie outside, in the ground in the Summer.
Grk-- Could the soil have been too damp for too long? I would repot with fresh soil. Barb--I am not aware of soil born mealy bugs....must google it. Grk--Ivy Is very susceptible to aphids, particularly when grown indoors. I have one in my office, and I have to give it a bath outdoors every month or so. It keeps the aphids down. Bathing with soapy water helps too. You could probably use some systemic on the plant to deal with the aphids if you don't object to that sort of thing.
It looks like mold to me. I have seen that form after I sprayed insecticidal soap on the plants. I don't think it is anything to worry over, myself. disturb the soil some and let it dry out a little. If your ivy is loosing all of its leaves maybe give it a big trim (leave 3-4" of stems coming from the pot) and let it regrow. If it has died or is dying maybe just get a new plant and start over. Personally I think house plants are difficult to keep nice. Most of us don't have enough humidity or proper lighting for them. They get stressed and start loosing their leaves or become susceptible to insects attacking them.
Thank you all for your helpful advice. In the end I decided to dig out the root ball and it was pretty soggy, so I loosened the soil around it and let it dry out in the sun and overnight. The next afternoon I raked away the surface layer of soil and sprayed the root ball with the milk/water mixture and left it in the sun a few more hours and finally re-potted with new soil. Hopefully it was just over watered and needed some aeration! Fingers crossed...if not I am only out the $3 for the new soil. I also cut a couple of vines off and potted those separately. Thanks again for all the great ideas.
