Procedure on how to soak a plant in water?

[lil12002]

I have some ant problems and I have been reading on this board that soaking the plant will help get them gone, But I have no seen any instructions on how or what the proper procedure is to soak the plant, I tried searching and nothing came up, any help would be great!

Thanks
Lil

[Emma Grey]

Hi!

I soak my plants once a week to give them a good watering. I fill up the kitchen sink with water for the larger plants, and I fill up small plastic containers for plants in smaller pots. But like I said, this is just a good watering for the plants.

To get rid of ants, try using the "best stuff ever":

10 drops dishsoap
1.8 ml cinnamon extract (about 1/2 tsp.)
2 cups tepid water

I put it in a spray bottle and spray the infested plants. I also pour the solution through the medium to make sure any bugs that are hiding down in the pots are killed also. I've never used it on ants, but I know it works on lots of other types of critters.

[Ron]

Hi it would be best if you repotted and cleaned off all the old mix and ants.
I find otherwise when you soak it, somehow the ants seem to form a bubbble around their nest and it fails to get wet, perhaps a bit of dishwashing liquid would help destroy the bubble.
You can mix a bit if insecticde into the water to kill the ants, with a few drops of the dishwashing liquid.
best of luck as they are hard to erradicate once the move into your collection.

[lil12002]

Well we have alot of spiders so ants have never been a problem but it has been extremely hot the last 3 days in socal so they are coming in through ever whole in my house.

[Emma Grey]

Good to know, Ron! I've never dealt with ants before, so thanks for the tips. I'll tuck that info. a way for future use.

Lil - Where in SoCal are you? I'm in Riverside and it's supposed to be 104 here today. Ugh!

[NiNiDazzle]

I grow all my chids in S/H, but have always wondered how one would "soak" a pot. Wouldn't all the medium just float on out? Especially when I read "dunk the pot, plant and all".

[lil12002]

How long is this soaking process?

[lil12002]

Originally Posted by NiNiDazzle

I grow all my chids in S/H, but have always wondered how one would "soak" a pot. Wouldn't all the medium just float on out? Especially when I read "dunk the pot, plant and all".

You are right the medium on top just floated out but i have a drainer and i will re-add it once i drain the sink

[lil12002]

I'm in downtown LA Emma.

[Dendian]

I dunk my plants - not soak them. With the floaty stuff I put my hand over the pot - around the plant as best as possible - to stop floaters. I then put the whole pot (and my hands) under water/soap solution - count to about 5 - take it out and do it again. I find the first time gets almost everything nice and wet - and taking it out pushes the stuff down through the mix so the second dunk gets anywhere that air bubbles were trapped the first time. I did one pot until there were no more floating out ants. However, next time I am going to do like Ron suggested - de-pot and remove the ants from the mix. It took almost an hour to get the last ant out with dunking them.. it would have taken about 10 minutes to re-pot.

[BGGraham1]

We've got quite a few So Cal geeks showing up lately! And yes, it was pretty hot by Oxnard standards today - we got up to 86...

[BluPeaches]

It was hot down here too. We were at 80 something and humidity outside was in the high 30s,

[lil12002]

last time I was in oxnard area it was ridiculously hot!

[Emma Grey]

When I soak I keep the water level just below the top rim of the pot so the bark doesn't float out.

[Ron]

Originally Posted by lil12002

How long is this soaking process?

Maybe 5 minutes at best

[Leafmite]

I soak my regular houseplants in a laundry tub over night when I have found ant colonies inside the pots, making certain that no path was available for the ants to escape. When I had them in the bark of my orchids, I would set an upside down clay pot in a bowl, then put the orchid's pot on top of the clay pot. I made certain nothing touched the plant or the pot. I filled the bowl with water and, after a week, all ant activity concerning the plant was gone. They couldn't get over the water to forage. If you know anyone who is into herbs, ants seem to greatly dislike fresh wormwood (artemisia absinthium) leaves and I've placed the leaves on top of an infested pot and watched them scurry out of the pot as fast as they can, carrying their larva. Terro baits placed where there is ant activity works but not as quickly as I'd like. I use lava rock now for the orchids and haven't had ants set up a colony in this. If you have non-orchid houseplants that don't produce anything edible, try granular rose systemic in their soil to keep the ants and other pests from spreading to your orchids. Hope this helps,
Leafmite

[PaulB]

Originally Posted by Emma Grey

Good to know, Ron! I've never dealt with ants before, so thanks for the tips. I'll tuck that info. a way for future use.

Lil - Where in SoCal are you? I'm in Riverside and it's supposed to be 104 here today. Ugh!

Emma- I'm jealous. You're in Riverside... ever go in to Cal West Tropical?? Right off the 91 Fwy. Leave your checkbook in the car. That's where I get my Orchiata and other supplies. They also have a nursery, but haven't been there. Yet.

[E-Jag]

You probably won't get rid of ants by drowning them - they can live for days/weeks underwater. Don't know what effect dishsoap has on them. You can dunk them in 2 ways: Pull the plant out of the pot and medium, submerge the plant for awhile and clean out the pot well (bleach), which is your best bet here to get rid of ants, or you can put the pot in a container of water that comes nearly to the rim of the pot. When the medium begins to float, that's enough water. It will stay in the pot. This is how I water all of my orchids. Your growing conditions will dictate how long to let them soak.

[Emma Grey]

Paul - I go to Cal West all the time! It's a mile away from my house. In fact, I just got home from a trip over there. I needed pots and some Physan.

[PaulB]

A mile away? Sheeesh! It's about an 45 minute drive for me, but worth it. I can't stand the idea of ordering twenty bucks worth of stuff and paying twenty bucks for shipping. Have you been to their nursery? I didn't ask when I was there what kinds of plants they sell. By the way, Cal West is where I get my GrowMore® seaweed extract, which I'm running out of... Dang! Now I have to back to Cal West ... my new toy store...

[Filb]

Originally Posted by Emma Grey

Paul - I go to Cal West all the time! It's a mile away from my house. In fact, I just got home from a trip over there. I needed pots and some Physan.

Sorry to continue the thread hijack, but dang..I am jealous.
I wish I lived a mile away from an orchid greenhouse. Or maybe I don't..haha. I guess I save a lot of money NOT living near one.

[PaulB]

Ooopse! I guess I did hijack this thread.

I apologize.