Indoor plant care

General

Species

Crassula ovata

Crassula ovata (Wikipedia, RHS), colloquially known as the jade plant.

Cultivars I have:

Susceptible to Mealybugs.

Becomes leggy when it’s not receiving enough sunlight.

Can be pruned for shape. Cuttings are easily propagated after they’re left for at least 24hrs for the cuts to develop a callus.

Echeveria

Echeveria (Wikipedia)

Diseases and parasites

Mealybugs

RHS.

I had them mainly on succulents (Crassula ovata). They will usually be found at the base of leaves, sometimes attached to roots in the soil.

Keep affected plants separate — at least 1m away — to prevent spread, then work on cleaning them.

It’s essential to eliminate all insects for durable results, so you need an ongoing plan. I’ve tried, without success, spraying thoroughly with mineral oils, but it’s impossible to get into all the crevices, esp. on Crassula ovata “Gollum”.

What worked much better is taking a finely-tipped watercolor brush, soaking it in alcohol, and brushing the bugs one by one, repeating as necessary. As it dries, the alcohol kills the insect. I’ve used undilluted 72-proof ethanol, because that’s what’s widely available here, but rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol should work as well.

Seems daunting at first, but it doesn’t end up taking that long and it can be quite relaxing. If you do it regularly, there should be fewer and fewer bugs to brush each time. To make the work more manageable, you can take the opportunity and prune the jade tree. The cuttings can then be propagated after washing them thoroughly, and monitored in the first month for signs of mealybugs.

References: