scale on Cephalotus follicularis

[jpyerry]

Hello, I am new to this forum, I have been growing CPs since Fall 2010.

Last December, I bought a Cephalotus follicularis - typical form. Over the past few months, it really hasn't been doing well, some of the pitchers have gotten much larger (most were about .25" tall and a few have gotten to be about .5" tall), and it really has not put out any new pitchers since I got it and many pitchers that it had have died.

So, last week I repotted it. It still hasn't done much, I know one week is not much time for a plant like the Cephalotus. But, today I flipped over one of the leaves and noticed a series of small brown bumps. The amateur scientist in me got curious so I cut the leaf off and put it under the dissecting microscope. I saw very small clear insectoid bugs moving all over the place, carrying what looked like eggs and the brown bumps were immobile but had long hairy appendages and had some sort of activity going on underneath their outer layer.

After doing some research, I am almost certain that this is scale.

I know that CPs are quite sensitive to chemicals, so I wanted to know if anybody has dealt with this before and what course of action is recommended.

I did take some rubbing alcohol and swabbed the plant with it, for some of the areas where the bugs were more intractable, I scaped them with a curette. I did this for a few hours, and then decided I should seek some help in dealing with this issue.

I look forward to any help anybody can give.

[ICPS-bob]

Here are a few links that you might find useful.
www.flytrapcare.com/cephalotus-follicularis.html

www.carnivorousplants.org/seedbank/species/Cephalotus.htm

[jpyerry]

Thanks for the links ICPS-bob. Today I went to check on the plant, and the plant is not looking well at all, most of the pitchers are a dull green to grey color and they look as though they are dying. I think I might have killed it with the alcohol.

If it dies, it will be my second Cephalotus that I've killed. My Hummer's Giant died about a month from the sudden death syndrome they experience.

I really hope I can get this plant down, I think they are some of the most interesting of the carnivorous plant genera. But, learning by trial and error is quite expensive with this particular plant.

Well, I'll let everyone know if it pulls through.

[peterhewitt]

Plants rubbed with alchohol will show a "Washed out" look, but it should not kill the plant.
I have found the trick to growing Cephalotus, is to water the plant from the top, or if using the tray method, to just put enough water in the tray, to let the plant "Suck" it up. I never let mine it in water for long, Cephalotus does not like waterlogged conditions for any length of time.
Many people do use the tray method, and leave the plants sitting in water, but then the pots are usually very tall, and the main root or "Tuber" is not under water.
This is just what works for me though.

[peterhewitt]

One more thing, if you are planning to use an insecticide on the plant, it is best to isolate it from your other plants when treating. You don't want to kill off beneficial insects, that keep spider mites, and other nasties at bay.

[Aidan]

Depending how you went about it, the plant may take months to recover from repotting and the shedding of many leaves before seeing renewed growth is not uncommon.

Alcohol is ineffective though it may reduce the population for a while. Treatment with a neonicotinoid insecticide such as imidacloprid or thiacloprid should solve the problem.

[jpyerry]

When I had the leaf I removed under the microscope, I doused the area with rubbing alcohol. It took around 15 minutes, but the bugs did die. But seeing how long it took them to succomb, I can see how it might not eliminate the problem. I am planning on buying a few different pesticides next week. I want to treat this plant, plus one of my orchids has phalaenopsis mites (probably the last time I buy from international dealer again) that I need to treat. In addition, every plant I own has a problem with fungus gnats (thank you Miracle Gro for that one) that I really want to take care of. It should be quite an adventure these next few weeks. Again, I really don't want my Ceph to die so I really have my fingers crossed. PS, I won't throw away an apparently dead CP for at least 4 months, I've had them spring back for me later on.

[jpyerry]

I got home after my weekend at work and found all of the pitchers and leaves on my Cephalotus were dead. I am still keeping the plant in case it starts some new growth, but I don't have high hopes for it.

Guess I better start looking for a new one to purchase. Oh well...