Help! Aphids on my brand new opening cymbidiums!

[Valerie]

I'm a new member----not sure how all this technology works----I'm definitely a novice at it......but would really like some help in managing this problem.....Started out 20 years ago when I visited Stewart's Orchids in San Gabriel....it became such a special place to visit and really miss them.....I now have about 70 plants and the miniatures and cascades ar doing their thingand were not bothered by the aphid, but now at least ten of 45 spikes have aphids!!!!!! Last year I thought I kinew how to manage the problem by putting diazanon around the pots because I thought keeping the ants at bay would control the problem and before I brought the spikes into the house or before I gave individual blossoms away I sprayed them with Orthenex. This year, nothing is working......I am really distressed. Someone, please help............!
Thanks,
Valerie

[kmarch]

Dear Valerie,

Since the aphids are on flower buds, you need something that won't damage your buds further. I have used Safer Soap (a brand of mild insecticidal soap) on flowers with fairly good success. Others may have useful ideas as well.

-Kevin

[Anton]

Here in Australia have specific sprays for aphids, I am sure they are available in the States too.

Be careful though, there are some orchids which don't like pyrethrum based sprays. Cynthia will probably guide you in the right direction.

[arleneg]

Hi Valerie,

Welcome to the forum.

Aphids have natural predators -- ladybugs. You can buy a container of live ladybugs from a nursery and, sometimes, big box stores. Every year, I've had problems with aphids on my roses and have used ladybugs successfully. However, if they're not available in your area or nearby, then I'm sure Cynthia will chime in with a suggestion or two on insecticidal soaps, etc.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Soaps? What's that? I had a recurrent problem of aphids on my reedstemmed epis. Had aphids in the greenhouse, removed the Epis from the greenhouse and never saw them in the greenhouse again. They really like reedstemmed Epi flowers. So, I finally ended the recurrent problem when I sprayed the plants and flowers with neem oil. Pyrethrin was used, but they came back about once every two months. Someone said they bare live young, so where they were in the interum, I have no idea. Aphids are especally bad and should be pursued to quick and final death because they are known to be spreaders of virus. So, if you keep a virused plant with the rest of your plants, there is a good chance virus will be passed to the other plants. Since you mostly have no way of knowing which of your plants are virused, and it is not all that uncommon to get virused plants from commercial vendors, even the best of them, you want to take quick action. The only warning I will make is that some plants are sensitive to neem oil, so don't spray too heavily, just enough to wet the surface of the leaves and flowers. Fine terete leaved plants and very thin leaved plants seem to object to the spray. You might just want to spray the flowers for a starter, and see if this does the job, as aphids seem to be focused on the flowers. Be sure to keep the sprayed plants out of strong light and heat for a few days. You might also want to isolate the blooming plants, since the aphids are probably limited to the flowers of those plants.

[Ellen]

Just keeping the cymbidiums outdoors and hosing down the whole plant when you water seems to help prevent insect pests. Once you get the acute aphid problem under control, you might want to spray the plants well with water once a week to wash off any bugs or sap that might attract bugs.

[jerrymeola]

My numbner one cure is Worm Tea. It can be sprayed directly on an open flower without damage (I use it to refresh flowers). It can be sprayed on food crops and eaten the same day. And it killed the aphids on my roses in one day.

Worm Tea testing – follow-up - WOW

[PhalPal]

Just a gross note...did you know that aphids are born PREGNANT??!! Ewww.