Question
I have numerous plants in my sunporch, which faces south. I live in the Phila, Pa area. The porch is enclosed but not heated or air conditioned so the days are fairly warm & the nights are fairly cool. I water all my plants once a week, thoroughly. I noticed today that one of my plants, I don't know the variety,it's in an 8inch pot, succulent leaves and has a tendancy to vine, has a white dust on it. Several months ago I had discarded a plant with the similar condition. I think it's mealy bugs but am not sure. Should I try to eradicate the pest or discard the plant? Thank you for your input.

Answer
Anna,

Mealy bugs look like little bits of cotton stuck to the leaves, usually where the leaf connects to the stem. If there are only a few they can be romoved with Q-tips dipped in rubbing alcohol and pitched. If there are a lot of mealy bugs you need to spray the plant with rubbing alcohol daily for a week then 3 time a week for 2 weeks then twice a week for 2 week then weekly for 6 more weeks.

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that looks more like a cross between white dust covering the plant or mold. Go to Google.com and put in powdery mildew and click on it then click on images. See if that is what your plant looks like. If that is the problem then spray the plant thoroughly, tops and bottoms of all leaves , with Lysol Spray. Spray the plant with the Lysol daily for a week then 3 time a week for 2 weeks then twice a week for 2 week then weekly for 6 more weeks. It should solve the problem.

For either problem, after you have solved it you need to watch the plant closely all winter to catch it early if the problem returns. If it returns I might consider pitching the plant because it can be very difficult to eradicate if it becomes a chronic problem.  Good luck.

Darlene