A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 mildews or mealy bugs ?

As some of you would know I am new to gardening and I have put up a garden just a month back.All the plants are very small and as such I am watering them regularly. But for the past few days I see a lot of white woollen patches in the leaves of almost all my plants. They are not moving and they are in different sizes. I tried removing the infected leaves of asperagus and mussaenda, but now they seem to be appearing on other plants too. I am unable to identify them. From the description given in the books it looks like mealy bugs or mildews. Can anybody help me ? Thanks in advance.

Nritya,
Did you have a camera for some photo's by
any chance?????

*Hey, Welcome to The Garden Helper's Forum
by the way, we're very glad you found us!!!*
*Sent you congrats on the mystery plant vine find*

Also, can you tell us a little more about the conditions, that can help in diagnosing pests and problems too...

Like your watering, what time of day?
And how do you water, by a hose, drip hose,
watering can???

And if you've used any fertilizers on your plants,
and if so, what kind..*the number's on the front*

And what kind of soil are these plants planted in?
Like regular garden soil, if so, what type, loamy, clay, sandy, etc.??
Or a bagged soil, what's the name on those?

And is your garden planted in the ground in a
regular garden..?
Or all in containers/pots???

Hi weezie,
I water the plants twice a day with the help of a hose pipe. In the mornings I give them more water and in the evenings I just wet the plant and the area around it. They are planted in the ground along the corners of my lawn of korean grass (zoysia sp.). I have not used any fertilisers and the soil was prepared by the nursery people which I guess consists of sand,redsoil,humus and manure.There are lots of ants on the lawn and I see a lot of other insects also. I have not been able to take any pictures.

By the way I am very happy to know that gmom was able to find out about her mystery vine.

By the sounds of it, they are definitely mealybugs. If you scrape away a bit of the wax, you should see the adults within. They are a light grey colour.

I tried scraping the substance but I could not find anything underneath. It just came out in flakes.I seem to notice these forming on the 2nd or 3rd day after it rains. The peculiar thing is that it was also there in a small coir rope I had used to tie my bougainvillae for support.It looks like some fungus attack to me.