Just when I start getting new buds...

[BayouBiscusLover]

They are turning yellow!  Any ideas what this is?

[Charlie]

Thrips or hibiscus gall midge. Looks more like the midge. Where do you live? If along the Gulf Coast or anywhere in Florida the midge is likely. You can test for the midge by opening one of the yellow buds and watching for small lively yellow worms to emerge.

Charlie

[BayouBiscusLover]

Hey Charlie, I live in Northern Louisiana not far from the Arkansas border.  I took a few pictures of some open buds.  About 5 have turned yellow but others are still green and have recently began to open.  These could have been the worms you were talking about, but they weren't moving around at all.  Could they be dead already?  I just sprayed all of my plants with Bayer 3 in 1.  Will this take care of the midge/thrips?

I have the Bayer that attaches to a waterhose.  How often should I treat them?  The bottle says every 7-10 days, is that sufficient?

[Charlie]

The Bayers will help with the midge. Removing yellow buds from the plants before they fall onto the ground will also help a lot. The life cycle is broken if you dispose of the yellow buds in sealed trash bags. That timing is ok. Thrips require use of a different chemical - spinosad. It is also possible that the extra hot temperatures you have been having are cooking some of the buds and causing this to happen. Nothing much you can do about that.

We don't have the gall midge out here in California but what people in your area have reported is that if you take a yellowing bud off a bush, cut it open, and then place it in a zip lock bag the bright yellow works will emerge after awhile and are easily seen. They are said to be "hoppers" meaning they can flex their bodies and jump.

Charlie

[BayouBiscusLover]

Well, I have come to a conclusion that I dont have the midge or thrips.  I think the sun is cooking the buds.  I have moved her to a place with only about 10-15 minutes of direct sunlight a day.  I still have yellowing leaves, but what i noticed while I was picking the leaves off is that under one of the yellow ones was a nice pretty green bud with the flower already coming out.  My assumption is that the yellow leaf that was covering it was getting the direct sunlight therefore blocking the bud from it.  I sure do miss seeing Creole Lady's blooms...I hope this one opens up for me!


Charlie, on another note, can you make sure Cindy received my reply about holding the shipment of my new cv until July 25th?  I replied to her email but wasnt sure if it got back to her.  Order # JW120100011293.  Thanks!

Jonathan

[BayouBiscusLover]

Well, after a long hard battle with the Creole Lady dropping buds and eventually dropping every leaf on her, I took a few dying leaves to my local nursery and it turns out she had some kind of a fungus.  I applied a systemic fungicide on her and she is fighting her way back!  Keeping my fingers crossed!