Follow our indoor winter checklist for happy and healthy plants. As we enter the depths of winter, bringing the garden indoors adds a warming touch of greenery while much of the backyard goes into hibernation. If given the right growing conditions and care, your indoor plants will reward you with year-round living décor and joy. Watch out for scale!
Did you know? Leaf shining products are available from our GCA Garden Centres to help protect your plants from dust and keep leaves looking their best.
Identification: Very small tan or brown oval insects with a hard shell that infect the stems and undersides of the leaves of indoor plants. They are sap-sucking and can eventually ruin a plant. The secretions of heavy infestations can lead to sooty mould and black fungus. The best way to curb scale attacks is to keep your plants clean from dust, in a humid atmosphere, and in optimal health,
Symptoms: The appearance of raised bumps on leaves and stems. Leaves may also be covered in a sticky substance. Because these insects suck the sap of plants, heavier infestations can cause yellowing of leaves, stunted growth and even dieback of the plant. If left untreated, the yellowing and dieback of the plant will increase, meaning the plant will be sapped of all its nutrients and will eventually die off completely.
Suggested Action: Infested plants can also affect other healthy plants near them. Keep affected plants separate from healthy ones. Remove and dispose of any infested branches, twigs, and leaves (do not put these on the compost heap – throw them in the bin or burn them). Where scale colonies on plants are not so large, they can be picked off by hand. Dabbing individual pests with an alcohol-soaked cotton swab will also work when infestations are light. In cases of larger scale colonies, treat with a systemic insecticide.
If you would like to add some instant colour to your home, choose from the wide range of stunning indoor plants available now at GCA Garden Centres. Try African violet, begonia, cyclamen, peace lily, calceolaria, kalanchoe, cymbidium orchids, chrysanthemums, cineraria, and primula acaulis.
Make the most of winter indoors and always remember to grow on! Visit your GCA Garden Centre for a gorgeous variety of pot plants, fertilisers, and pest control solutions. If you are unsure about products or which plants to choose, ask the friendly staff for assistance – they’re there for you!
Source: Life is a Garden