BAY NEWS

Newsletter of the American Gesneriad Society of San Francisco

Volume 27, No. 4, April 2005

 

 
Next Meeting: Sunday, April 17, 2005

Program: “Dog” Show

 

 

 

 

Pests and their Management

by Jon Dixon

 

Pests are bad things to have if you love growing beautiful plants.  Steps need to be taken to get rid of them once they are recognized.

 

Mealybugs

One pest that usually plagues almost everyone is mealybugs, both on the foliage (foliar MB) and in the soil (soil MB).  Though there are about 500 species of native mealybugs, the species that bother our plants are not natives.  Foliar mealybugs are most often found on the undersides of leaves, on veins and in joints on the stems, and at the base of petioles.  Root mealies are found attached to soil and leave a tell-tale white cottony residue on the insides of pots.

 

Nothing seemed to work well on mealybugs.  Insecticides that had been known to work were banned.   Temik worked well but this one was one of the most toxic insecticides ever created and it also was banned.  later, Oxymil, a less toxic insecticide than Temik was a good treatment, but it also was still too toxic and was banned.  Marathon, a much safer systemic product seems to control mealybugs, as well as aphids, scale and white fly, but not thrips.

 

Marathon is not available over the counter.   It is sold only to wholesale nurserymen.   If you are able to obtain this insecticide be sure to get instructions with it and follow them carefully.  It is not recommended on plants using wick watering.  Advantage, the remedy for fleas on dogs and cats, has the same active ingredient as Marathon:  imadacloprid.

 

Mealybugs can also be kept under control, somewhat, with Orthene,  horticultural oil sprays, horticultural soap sprays, neem oil and alcohol.   Alcohol can be used with a q-tip, small brush, or sponge brush (best for large scale application).  Alcohol can damage some foliage, particularly on streptocarpus, and should be washed off after a heavy application.   Alcohol kills the bugs on contact.

 

Thrips

Thrips, cyclamen mites, spider mites, and broad mites are so small they are hard to detect except with a magnifying glass.   Their damage is usually evident before they are detected.  The only really effective exterminator of these pests is Avid.   Unfortunately this product, which is diluted into a spray, is not available over the counter.   Orthene , and Knox-out, an encapsulated diazanon systemic, seem to work..  Knox-out (not now available over the counter) works by sticking to the foliage, lasting up to several months and killing the bugs as they come into contact with it

 

Scales

These pests can be controlled with Marathon systemic, Orthene, neem oil, and horticultural oil sprays

 

Caterpillars, Bud worms, Cabbage Moth larvae

These are usually the ones that leave holes in the leaves.   There are various caterpillar insecticides, but one is non-toxic, containing Bacillus Thuringensis. This is a natural bacterial enemy of these pests, which when sprayed on foliage, infects and kills the pests. Another method to get rid of caterpillars is to spot their excrement and then look under the leaves, pick them off, and drop them into a bag for disposal.

 

Ants

Ants ‘farm’ scale, aphids and mealybugs, creating intense infestations.  They feed on the sweet excretions of the pests.  Get rid of the aphids and scale, and then spray a combination of boric acid and sugar in the area. Ants also seem to dislike cinnamon. Before diazanon was banned, the granule form was very effective at eliminating ants from pots.  Use of cinnamon might be an effective non-toxic replacement for this insecticide.

 

Fungus/mildew

There are various commercially available fungus sprays.  There are such remedies as milk, baking soda and cinnamon applied in various ways that might deter fungus/mildew.

 

Snails/slugs

Hand pick or use a bait to rid yourself of these.  The least toxic is Sluggo.

 

Earwigs

There is an Ortho powder made to control these pests. Sometimes they seem to thrive on pesticides.  Another method of control is to roll up newspapers loosely and place

the rolls around the area.   Do this in the evening.  Pick up the rolls early in the morning, shake them into a bucket of soapy water to catch the earwigs and drown them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

San Mateo County Fair

by David Waugh and Gene Sussli

 

Gene Sussli has been an entry participant in the Amateur Floral Arts Section of the San Mateo County Fair for many years. In previous years the Fair gave gesneriads 5 classes for Saintpaulia and 1 class for any other Gesneriad.  That has changed for the 2005 fair.

 

The date of the fair is August 12-21, and the entry deadline (the date by which you must submit what you plan to enter) is July 11.   Exhibitors must be from one of the following California counties:  San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Marin, and  Alameda.  Each exhibitor is allowed 2 entries for each class, which technically gives each exhibitor up to 16 entries to Amateur Floral Arts

 

In 2005 gesneriads will have 8 classes as follows:

                       

1. Saintpaulia, Single crown

                        2. Saintpaulia, miniature or Simi-miniature, single crown, any variety

                        3. Saintpaulia, trailer, any variety

                        4. Streptocarpus or Streptocarpella

                        5. Tuberous Gesneriad

                        6. Any other upright Gesneriad

                        7. Trailing or cascading Gesneriad, other than Saintpaulia

8. Gesneriad grown for ornamental qualities other than flowers (no

                      flowers or buds with color showing)                                           

 

This is a good opportunity to expose the public to the wide variety of gesneriads.  Members are urged to submit gesneriad entries to the San Mateo County Fair.  Gene has volunteered to look after entries of our club members, that is, keep them watered and generally groom as necessary during the 10 day run of the fair. 

 

Nancy McDougal, San Mateo County Fair Coordinator, added the following information:

 

Re  the  gardens:  They are a category within the prize catalog in  the  "garden"  section following our "floral" section.  The Fair  provides a 250 sq foot space, bounded by RR ties & filled with  soil,  in  which  individual  or  groups of gardeners can construct  a  show  garden  depicting  a portion of a full size garden  similar  to  what  we saw in the building at the Home & Garden show.  Only one garden is allowed per category-- so each garden is judged on its own merits, rather than against other gardens. Prize money is $500 for first prize (a well-done garden) or $250 for second (where several errors of design or execution were made). The gardens this year will either be indoors or (hopefully) outdoors under shadecloth.  Gardeners may choose to sell  the  plants in their gardens on the last Sunday evening or not.

 

 

 

 

 

Show and Tell and Raffle Table

by Lorah Gross

 

Alan LaVergne brought Nematanthus australis and Sinn. Canescens and leucotricha for show and tell. Gene Sussli brought “Sample Pests” for meeting program, Streptocarpus ‘Heidi’, Strep. ‘Maassen’s White’, Streptocarpella, various Achimenes rhizomes, and Kohleria project for show and tell. He donated a plastic propagation box for the raffle table. Katherine Henwood brought Chirita sp. Diane Marie, Aturko, Aiko, and Sinningia ‘Cherry Sprite’ for show and tell. She donated Columnea ‘Madame Butterfly’, Chirita ‘Kazu’ and Strep hybrid (lavender) to the raffle table. David Waugh brought Sinningia guttata, seedlings of Alan LaVergne from 2002 for show and tell. He donated cuttings of Episcia ‘Silver Skies’ to the raffle table. Paula DeBella brought three newly rooted Saintpaulias (just to show she’s finally getting new plants) with babies for show and tell: “Tomahawk”, Norle x Tangerine halo, and Irish Maiden. She donated an Alsobia “Cygnet” to the raffle table.

 

Jon Dixon brought the following plants for show and tell: Strep Kentaniensis, corytoplectus cutucuensis, Aeschynanthus Lipstick type, Sinningia leucotricha ‘Max Dekking’, Sinningia calcaria x macropoda, xGlokohleria ‘Scarlet Letter’, Episcia ‘Country Color’, Petrocosmea sp ‘G25KC00’, Petrocosmea formosus (in flower out of season), Podophyllum ‘Kaleidoscope’, Impatiens niamiamensis variegated.

 

 

 

 

 

Minutes of The American Gesneriad Society of San Francisco

March 20, 2005 Meeting

by David Waugh, Secretary

 

The meeting was called to order at 1:20pm by President Katherine Henwood.   The following were also present:  David Waugh, David and Irene Fey, Gene Sussli, Alan LaVergne, Jon Dixon, Paula De Bella, Larry Williams, Alicia Morrison, Kevin Daly, Ron Parsons.

 

The minutes of the February meeting, in the March newsletter, were approved.

 

The Treasurer again reported we are in good condition and will afford all expenses needed for our June Sale and the August Show and Sale. One major expense is the slide projector which was purchased after the President obtained Board approval.   Our membership has remained at approximately the same level as last year.  We have 33 members.   

 

The 2005 Year Book was passed out and members were asked to let the President know of any errors in addresses, phone numbers etc.

 

The April meeting program will be a ‘Dog Show.’  A ‘Dog’ is not a dead plant or one infested with bugs.  It is a plant that just wouldn’t win a ribbon in a judged show because of the way it grew.   More details on this and our field trip in May will be included in the April newsletter.

 

The program was given by Jon Dixon and the subject was: Pests and their Management.

See the Newsletter for more details.

 

We then did ‘Show and Tell.’

 

Gene Sussli discussed the San Mateo County Fair.   See the newsletter for more details.

 

We then did the raffle, packed up and departed about 3:55pm

 

 

2005 Officers

President:  Katherine Henwood

Vice President:  Terri Lynn Campbell

Secretary:  David Waugh

Treasurer:  Irene Fey (please request Irene’s address from Lorah Gross)

Newsletter Editor: Lorah Gross lorah@lorah.net

 

Meetings: Usually third Sunday of each month, 1-4 p.m. at Library of County Fair Bldg., Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.  (Enter from parking lot North side of 10th Avenue and Lincoln Blvd., turn right through gate next to building, go to third door) 

2005 meetings: April 17, June 19, July 17 (Board meeting before regular meeting), August 21, September 18, November 20, December 18 Holiday Luncheon.

 

Shows, Sales, and Field Trips:

May TBA Field Trip, June 4 Exhibit and Plant Sale, July 5-10 AGGS Convention (Portland, OR), October TBA Field Trip

 

Dues: $10 single, $11 family. Make checks payable to AGS SF, mail to Treasurer.

 

Website: http://www.agssf.org