Over two summers, my little tree was infected with mealy bug. It's the slimey deposit on the backs of the leaves along the main rib, usually near the stem, and along the branches. I don't like to use any harsh chemicals anywhere and certainly on something that goes into my food. So I tried Safers Soap. Didn't work.
The only thing that did it was to sit on the back deck, in the sun, with a sharp fingernail and my glasses on. Individually, I scraped off every single one. I then washed it very thoroughly with a mild dish detergent solution. I made sure that I coverred every branch, leaf, stem, etc. As long as I got all of them, it didn't come back. I did an inadequate job the first summer, but the following summer, I really did get all of them and they have never returned.
This winter, it just developed a new problem. Some kind of bug is eating the sap from the leaves and leaving behind a sticky sap residue that is apparently undesirable to the bug. I cannot see any sign of infestation except that ALL of the leaves dried up, curled and refused to come back to life. So after a few weeks, I cut them all off along with many of the branches. It is now sprouting again with young healthy leaves. I imagine the infestation is still there as I did nothing to 'clean' it up, unless the 'bugs' starved while there were no leaves to munch on.
I am thrilled that it is coming back to life as it was a difficult plant to find and I really love the fresh-picked leaves.
No help. But
The end.
The only thing that did it was to sit on the back deck, in the sun, with a sharp fingernail and my glasses on. Individually, I scraped off every single one. I then washed it very thoroughly with a mild dish detergent solution. I made sure that I coverred every branch, leaf, stem, etc. As long as I got all of them, it didn't come back. I did an inadequate job the first summer, but the following summer, I really did get all of them and they have never returned.
This winter, it just developed a new problem. Some kind of bug is eating the sap from the leaves and leaving behind a sticky sap residue that is apparently undesirable to the bug. I cannot see any sign of infestation except that ALL of the leaves dried up, curled and refused to come back to life. So after a few weeks, I cut them all off along with many of the branches. It is now sprouting again with young healthy leaves. I imagine the infestation is still there as I did nothing to 'clean' it up, unless the 'bugs' starved while there were no leaves to munch on.
I am thrilled that it is coming back to life as it was a difficult plant to find and I really love the fresh-picked leaves.
No help. But
The end.