Damage Control - Can This Plant Be Saved?

Forgive me for the lateness of this month's column. My husband and I traveled to Belize over Labor Day, and 11 days spent in the tropics apparently results in prolonged and acute laziness. It was a great trip; Belize is trying hard to protect its natural habitats and resources while still drawing ample tourism, and I applaud them for their efforts. However, I found a lot of work waiting for me in the garden and landscape upon returning home. Before we left, I tried to move most container plants to shade and/or a location where they would receive water from our automated sprinkler system, and most of them did fine.

A few others needed fast action. Amazingly, I don't think any of the critical cases will actually die, though. How do I know this?

For any gardener, careful scrutiny of your plants is the key. What is the plant's actual problem, instead of just its symptoms?

For example, if a plant has a spider mite infestation, it's usually the result of the air around the plant being too dry. (This is a common, pesky problem with plants that are brought indoors for the winter and placed too close to a furnace vent.) So, while your immediate task is ridding the plant of mites, you need to also fix the location and moisture situations.

What follows are a few plant problems I came home to, and how I remedied each situation with some common sense and no pesticides.

That Old Black Magic...with Mites

Case 1: I have two large 'Black Magic' Elephant Ear ('Colocasia') plants in whiskey half-barrel water gardens on my outdoor patio. Upon returning home, I found many of the leaves covered with spider mites. Now, you would think that because the plants are sitting in water, mites wouldn't be a problem. Not so. Between the hot, dry Texas air, constant sun and the fact these elephant ears were outgrowing their containers underwater, the plants were stressed. Enter the mites.

My solution? Trim off and discard (don't compost) badly damaged leaves, and be sure to periodically spray the plant with water. Mites hate contact with water. I'll continue to monitor these plants and will probably end up putting them in the ground this fall. After all, my other 'Black Magic' elephant ears planted in the ground in some shade along our house's foundation look great - no mites.

Pesticides used: None.

It's Alive! It's Alive!

Case 2: Just before we went on our trip, I indulged in a beautiful bottle brush ('Callistemon citrinus') plant from the nursery. I watered it well before we departed, but left it in its black plastic nursery container. Well, it fried. I was devastated to find it crisp and brown upon my return.