11-26-2010, 02:44 PM
I was told (several years ago), that puakenikeni does not like to be pruned aggressively. Plumeria can take it.
Are you talking about sooty mold by any chance? Gardenias and puakenikeni tend to get that, as do lemon trees. It comes from ants farming aphids (I think), and I've often seen it accompanied by scale.
I used to be the type of gardener who worked hard on my plants, but now I don't. (Whether that is good or bad, I can't say.) If a plant is not being grown in the optimum spot -- elevation, dry/wet, drainage, temperature, sun/shade, soil conditions -- then it will get sick, and pests and diseases will plague it. When that happens, I let it go and I focus on the plants that are thriving. And that is how I garden without spraying and chemicals. When you have unhappy plants, and you don't want to spray chemicals, prepare to spend an awful lot of time babying them. I at least have never found a magic organic bullet for plant woes.
My first effort with fungus would probably be to move the plant into a better site. To control sooty mold, you have to control the ants. Fungus ... that is something that thrives with excess moisture.
Are you talking about sooty mold by any chance? Gardenias and puakenikeni tend to get that, as do lemon trees. It comes from ants farming aphids (I think), and I've often seen it accompanied by scale.
I used to be the type of gardener who worked hard on my plants, but now I don't. (Whether that is good or bad, I can't say.) If a plant is not being grown in the optimum spot -- elevation, dry/wet, drainage, temperature, sun/shade, soil conditions -- then it will get sick, and pests and diseases will plague it. When that happens, I let it go and I focus on the plants that are thriving. And that is how I garden without spraying and chemicals. When you have unhappy plants, and you don't want to spray chemicals, prepare to spend an awful lot of time babying them. I at least have never found a magic organic bullet for plant woes.
My first effort with fungus would probably be to move the plant into a better site. To control sooty mold, you have to control the ants. Fungus ... that is something that thrives with excess moisture.