My Maui queen got spider mites, and I treated it a couple weeks ago. This was my first experience with spider mites, so even though I saw the early signs, I didn’t figure out what was wrong for a while. It was pretty bad. Anyway, in the last couple weeks since treatment, it has continued to struggle. It’s developing more and more brown spots, and it doesn’t close up all the way. (I don’t think it does, anyway. I keep it at work, so I don’t see it at night, but it used to be obviously starting to close before I went home.) I’ve checked regularly for more spider mites and don’t see any. What can I do to help her out? She is potted in a potting mix/perlite/orchid bark mix and is watered once a week with purified water and Happy Happy Houseplant food.
RunTimeExcptionalism
My Misto, which is also a variety of calathea louisae, had spider mites when I brought her home. I thought about throwing the plant away because I wasn’t attached yet, but instead, I abused her for a few weeks to treat the mites. I’d never had a plant with mites before either, but I didn’t want to mess around, so I dunked the poor thing in soapy water every three days for over a week, and then sprayed her with neem oil for another week. Naturally, she’s got damage from the mites, but also from my treatment regime. I had to cut a _lot_ of leaves off, but she’s in a nice spot and putting out new growth now.
My suggestion is to be patient; don’t change anything major about your plant’s environment unless you really need to, and don’t be tempted to fertilize just yet. It’s also worth investing in a loupe so you can check for pests more thoroughly.
Kayles77
Your plant doesn’t look too bad. I would just leave it be for the time being and see how it goes. I’ve got a couple of Maui Queens and have had mites multiple times. I have cut them down to the soil and they grow back pretty quick. But I think yours will be fine.
3 Comments
My Maui queen got spider mites, and I treated it a couple weeks ago. This was my first experience with spider mites, so even though I saw the early signs, I didn’t figure out what was wrong for a while. It was pretty bad. Anyway, in the last couple weeks since treatment, it has continued to struggle. It’s developing more and more brown spots, and it doesn’t close up all the way. (I don’t think it does, anyway. I keep it at work, so I don’t see it at night, but it used to be obviously starting to close before I went home.) I’ve checked regularly for more spider mites and don’t see any. What can I do to help her out? She is potted in a potting mix/perlite/orchid bark mix and is watered once a week with purified water and Happy Happy Houseplant food.
My Misto, which is also a variety of calathea louisae, had spider mites when I brought her home. I thought about throwing the plant away because I wasn’t attached yet, but instead, I abused her for a few weeks to treat the mites. I’d never had a plant with mites before either, but I didn’t want to mess around, so I dunked the poor thing in soapy water every three days for over a week, and then sprayed her with neem oil for another week. Naturally, she’s got damage from the mites, but also from my treatment regime. I had to cut a _lot_ of leaves off, but she’s in a nice spot and putting out new growth now.
My suggestion is to be patient; don’t change anything major about your plant’s environment unless you really need to, and don’t be tempted to fertilize just yet. It’s also worth investing in a loupe so you can check for pests more thoroughly.
Your plant doesn’t look too bad. I would just leave it be for the time being and see how it goes. I’ve got a couple of Maui Queens and have had mites multiple times. I have cut them down to the soil and they grow back pretty quick. But I think yours will be fine.