Question
QUESTION: Hi,
My in-laws from Southern CA gave us a 12-15"  Sago that they had been growing in their yard among dozens of other ones,  successfully.  We live in Utah and of course are attempting to grow it indoors.  I moved it away from my south window when we put up the Christmas tree & it almost immediately started turning yellow with tons of little seed like dark dots appeared all over the bottom of the leaves. They can be scraped off as well, thus not actual spots in the leaf itself.  It is also "spraying" a sticky substance all over itself, the pot & nearby plants.  Of course we don't see it happening, but it's like a fine mist, sticking all over everything around it.  It came back to the south window the first part of Jan & seems to be getting worse.  I feed it  "Superthrive" nearly every watering.  Just a drop in each half gallon.  It contains .09% B1, .048% 1-Naphthyl acetic acid.   A visitor from CA who had them at one time told us it was in serious condition & we needed to wash it with soapy water & scrub all the dots off of the back of their leaves & get rid of the stickiness.  I am afraid to wash it down with soapy water & here in Utah, no one can help us either.  Can you tell us what it's problem is & how to revive it?
Thanks,
Sandi

ANSWER: sandi,

I am out of town right now and working on my pda.  You have a scale insect infestation....very common and treatable.  MOre details to follow.


Hi Sandi,

What you have is a common problem: scale insect infestation.  This often happens when a plant is maintained indoors where the normal biological predators cannot control the scale insect population. Once you rid the plant of scale insects and place it outdoors, the natural predators will take over control of the scale insect problem.

What you must do is, as your visitor described, remove the scale insects yourself.  Scale insects attach themselves permanently to your plant and establish feeding sites.  They appear as small round-to-oval spots on the leaves.  These then suck the plant's fluids as a food source.  A byproduct of this process is a sticky residue called "honeydew", a solution high in sugar content.

Scale insects have two forms: the mobile juvenile stage, and the adult non-mobile stage.  To treat this infestation, you have to treat over a period of several weeks to make sure that the scales insects are eradicated.

The juvenile scale insects appear as small white, cottonlike spots that move about on the leaf surfaces, sometimes on stems as well.  Once they establish feeding sites, their outer shell forms and they develop the typical adult appearance of a small spot.

There are many horticultural oils (Volck, summer oil) that can treat these infestations.  The oil functions by smothering the insects.  However, even after death, the scale insects will be attached to the plant tissues for some time.  Most people cannot determine whether a scale insect is dead or alive after treatment.  To remove these insects it is necessary to take some kind of brush (I use an old toothbrush) and gently scrub with soapy water.  The juveniles (mobile stage) can be controlled by application of isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) with an swab.

For more information about scale insects, see the following website:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG005

Good Luck and Good Gardening.  


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Once I brush the spots off & they fall into the pot of dirt, even though saturated with water, are they still alive & will they crawl back up the trunk of the sago & start over or are they dead once they're scrubbed off?  Thank you for your help, I put the whole pot/plant in the shower & brushed them all off with the shower water & a brush.  I worry they fell into the dirt & are still there to start all over again. I did not use any oils or alcohol though.  Should I still even though the plant "seems" insect free?
Thanks again,
Sandi

Answer
Hi Sandi,

Once these scale insects are dislodged from the leaf or stem, they CANNOT reattach.  The only stage when these insects are mobile is before they establish a feeding site.  So, you shouldn't worry about them once they are dislodged.  As far as the infestation coming back, there is always the possibility of re-infestation.  However, once the cycad is placed outdoors, the natural predators will keep the scale insect populations in check.  As a bit of preventative care, in the fall before you bring the plant indoors, inspect the plant thoroughly and try remove any insects from the plant before you move it indoors.  The fewer the number of insects brought indoors, the lower the risk of a major infestation next winter.

Good Luck and Good Gardening!