Plantita Saturdays: They Like the Philodendron :(

The other night I noticed something different with the philodendron. It's only been a few weeks since I planted the stalks Ate Rose gave to me. It has just settled in and while checking the door I noticed something different with the large plant. 

The huge leaf I was admiring that afternoon when I watered it was halved in two. It was late already, but I headed out to check. A hungry caterpillar almost wiped out the huge leaf. My heart sank because the same thing happened last year when they almost wiped out all my plants. 

Since it's been a few days since I sprayed neem oil I decided to spray again to prevent further infestation. Noticed another smaller leaf being eaten the day after and I luckily caught the culprit. It had no chance of survival after I sprayed neem oil on it. 

They also like this variety :(

Sigh, really need to find time to hose down the area so I can sprinkle some diatomaceous earth around the pots. That way they won't get to the plant. Well, hopefully they didn't hatch eggs in the soil. I am hoping the neem oil spray will take care of it. Worse off I could probably water them with water with a bit of hydrogen peroxide. 

I hope I'll be able to control the infestation, so it won't be like what happened last year. Sigh.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Plantita Saturdays: It's Higad Season Again

Saw some creepy critters when we got back. It's not yet as bad as last year because we had pest control do some treatment a few weeks ago. Traced the source from the neighbor's tree at the back, so I need to ask if they could trim the tree. It's been dropping a lot of debris and higad, huhu. 

I quickly reviewed what I did last year. Here's a list:

• Spray neem oil with castille soap and baking soda twice a week.
• Spray boiled lemongrass and oregano on the plants. 
• Drop the critters in a bucket of water with neem oil and hydrogen peroxide. 
• Call pest control if things go out of hand. 

They killed a lot of my plants last year. One thing I'm planning to do this year is barricade my plants on the ground with diatomaceous earth. It should help prevent them from reaching the plants. Sweetie and I are planning to wash down the area where we keep plants. Things got super messy during the renovation and I have to move my succulents and cactus out of the garage. 

Make sure to wear gloves whenever you work in the garden! Since AQI has been bad, better to also wear a mask. Don't touch and don't inhale any of the fine hair on its body. It can block your air pipes and cause trouble. 

Happy gardening everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe