I have a well established, bi-color hoya on a round trellis that keeps on flowering. I just noticed that the stems of the flowers have a lot of little dark yellow things on them, like really miniature rice. Is this an infestation or pollen or what? I panicked over the weekend and cut one of the clusters off. I see now that another cluster has it. In between, I tried treating the plant with a household pyrethrins plant spray. Please let me know what this is. Thanks! I live in east central Illinois if that is any help.
do not cut off the spurs from were the flowers were .. that is were they flower from all the time .. it might be mealy bugs they love Hoyas.. and i would google that and see if it is what is on your plant .. usually pests are pretty easy to get rid of .. just need to find out what it is and what treatment .. but DO NOT cut anymore off
Dear Marn and Nandan:
Thank you for your replies. Yes, thanks for reminding me not to cut off the spurs--I know that I should spare them because they will keep producing flowers. Nandan, thanks for the phot--yes, they look like the yellow Aphids in the photo, and they are very tiny. I'll Google for a cure, but if you have a treatment that has worked for you, please let me know. Thanks to both of you!
These are an aphid that used to just be seen in California, I forget the name, something tropical sounding. Anyway, I have seen them on my hoyas here on the east coast and a few shots of insecticidal soap (Safer brand, any garden center) did the trick. You just have to be vigilant and not let them get the upper hand. And keep that particular plant away from your other plants until it has been treated a few times and you see no other signs of the bugs.
