I have a Confederate Rose that I started from a single leaf clipping given to me by the gift shop lady from a gorgeous specimen at Fort McCallister state park in Richmond Hill Georgia.

From that single leaf, 2 more have been grown. Aphids and white-flys have been the bane of their existence. The most effective insect deterrent I have found is French marigolds. Period.
Plant them and enjoy the healthiest, most insect-free Confederate roses you have ever seen.

Thanks for that helpfull tip!

Hi J.
Harvesting time will depend on what chemical you used to spray the vegetables. Check the manufacturers label -it should tell you how many days after spraying it is safe harvest.

Hi Roseann
The houseflies may be attracted to something in or on your mandevilla plant. They like moist soil and could be laying eggs in the soil that will hatch when you bring it indoors. Make sure there is no rotting or decaying material around or in the soil, if so remove it. If your mandevilla plant is still outdoors, attach some sticky fly paper to capture the flies. Loosen the soil at the base of the plant to disturb any hatching eggs. At last resort, spray the soil surface with a pyrethroid base chemical or use a soil drench of insecticidal soap to kill off any larvae. For label directions for chemical use. It’s best to spray before you bring it indoors.

First I mixed 250 mL of Canola Oil with 150 mL of concentrated washing up liquid, added a little water, shook to make “white oil” and made the mixture up to 1 litre. I used 250 mL of this and 25 mL of Confidor in my 100 L tank and it took four tanks to do the job. After the twelfth tank on day seven, I’ve never seen a white fly since out in our isolated location.

I might add that we got the pest on bought abutilons. I tried to get it identified everywhere and when I did, six months later, the fly had spread badly. I’ve since used the same technique to clean up a nursery that was much more heavily infested than we were and they had only to re-spray a small pocket that escaped.

Hope that helps. I’ll add that imidacloprid is not very toxic – it’s the main chemical used on dogs and cats to eradicate fleas.

Is your Christmas cactus outdoors? Whiteflies are difficult insect to get rid of indoors. A safe method is to hang yellow or blue sticky cards on the plant or on stakes to attract and trap the adult population of whiteflies. The sticky cards are available at garden centers. Be sure not to touch it or get it on your clothes. As for the rest of the younger population, spray the plant and soil surface with horticultural oil. Repeat treatment in 7-10 days until you no longer see the insect. Whitefly will spread from plant to plant therefore you should isolate the infested plant.

If they fly when the plant is disturbed then it sounds like white fly. They can be difficult to control. Use insecticidal soap spray and be sure to spray the underside of the leaves as that’s where they lay their eggs. To control spray every 5-7 days for about 2 weeks. It should take care of the adults and hatching eggs. If insecticidal soap doesn’t do the job try a pyrethroid type insecticide and follow manufacturers direction as to its use.

If the white bugs fly away when you shake the plant, its probably white fly. They are the size of celery seeds, eggs are laid on the undersides of leaves in a circular pattern. The young legless larvae attach themselves with their sucking mouthpart until they develop wings. You may also see some clear sticky ’stuff’on the plant, this is an exceretion typical of white fly, aphid, mealy bugs and scale. For treatment see above article