I just got home from buying some herbs. (I can't wait for my seedlings to get big enough!). I bought a rosemary, plain Italian parsley, sweet basil, and Hillary's sweet lemon mint. The new mint has something that looks like eggs on it. From the pic, do y'all think they are? Also the mint I already have looks like something has been chewing down on it. Is that bugs from what y'all can tell? Do y'all have any solutions on how to stop whatever it is? I also got a mother-in-law's tongue finally!! And I got a philodendron. Yay!!! I have a few sweet peppers sprouting now too along with the rosemary and tomatoes. I have plants everywhere and that's just how I love it! Thanks for giving me your thoughts. P.S. Why do my pics show up sideways? I didn't take them that way. My new herbs I just bought. ( photo / image / picture from poodledoodlemom's Garden ) Are these some sort of eggs? ( photo / image / picture from poodledoodlemom's Garden ) Are bugs eating my mint? ( photo / image / picture from poodledoodlemom's Garden ) Mother-in-law's tongue - finally got one! ( photo / image / picture from poodledoodlemom's Garden ) Philodendron - I love it. ( photo / image / picture from poodledoodlemom's Garden )
Hello there PDM. Well, you made quite a haul. RE: Mint plant. Those things look to me as if they are pupae. What insect, I do not know. Personally I would not bother with just removing them, I would excise the entire leaf and flush it down the toilet. The leaf holes do indeed resemble those made by an insect or slug. Quite possibly the same culprit as what are in the pupae or eggs. I wonder idf there is something residing in the soil of that little plant. If you suspect there is, then you can submerge the entire pot (so that the water comes to just above the soil line) in e.g. a bucket of water and just let it bubble until all the air is out of the soil and then just let it sit completely submerged for ~30 minutes. Either the beasts residing in the pot's soil will emerge or drown. Naturally you would then have to destroy the emerging insects. Once the plant pot has been taken out of the water just set it aside and place a sink stopper or something of that height under one side of the pot and let it thoroughly drain. 10-15 minutes ought to be enough for this. Thanks again for showing your plant haul--well done, you! The piccies lying on their side may be corrected by a setting in your camera. Have a look in the camera's menu. Good luck, meid.
I cut off and flushed the leaves with those things on them. Then I made a homemade bug repellant that I found on the internet and sprayed that on it. Hopefully that'll help. Is it normal to buy plants from a nursery and they have eggs all over them?
Unfortunately suppliers also have issues with insect pressure and can't always be assured of sending pest free plants to a nursery. It happens. You need to be vigilant as the consumer to isolating your new purchase for a week or two and inspecting it closely before putting it near any other plants you already have. I always am watching to make sure I don't have any pests or diseases, but it happens, especially in corners tucked farthest away from movement. Always look carefully at all the plants...observation, observation, observation.... If something looks curled or twisted or just not as healthy as the rest of the plants turn over the leaf(ves) and look for pests. I can normally spot a plant with aphids on it just looking at the plant compared to its neighbors. Usually aphids attack one plant in particular and they spread from there to the rest of the plants. I had sage in the greenhouse not long ago and as I looked at it I noticed one plant with its leaves curled tightly...as I looked closer at it it had aphids on that one particular plant in the seedling tray. same with the peppers. ONE plant with curled leaves and there were aphids on it.
I didn't have my reading glasses on and I didn't even think about this. I was too busy praying that I don't accidentally kill the poor babies. Lol!!!
It is not normal to buy plants with things on them. I know the nursery folk are not really happy to see me come because I inspect plants quite carefully-- looking at leaves, branches roots and looking really close for slugs in their hiding places. Heck, it's my money and I do not intend paying for poor quality plants or buying aphids, slugs or plant illnesses.
More bugs? So I sprayed that solution that I made and now you can see these little stinkers congregating on that leaf. There are others too. Do y'all have something you spray for bugs? These things are creeping me out!!! Can you see the bugs? ( photo / image / picture from poodledoodlemom's Garden )
PDM...Get a 1 qt. spray bottle and put some dishsoap in it (1T) and add some warm water and 1/2t of cooking oil if you want....but give your new plants a spray with the soapy water under the leaves, too. Don't miss any part. It wont hurt the plant to get the soapy water on or in the soil. Don't use this on hairy leafed plants, though. Don't rinse it off either. That defeats the purpose of smothering the bugs.
