Insect

One more question came in this week at Ask Gardenerd:

"I have large New Zealand Flax in planters on the balcony, they got white mealy buys - how can I treat it? I removed the nearby smaller plants where the bugs seemed to have invaded...but want to be sure I can save the large flax. Please help! Is there anything organic that works... the internet suggests malathion....ekkk! thanks...Beatrice"

I'm pretty sure we can save your New Zealand Flax (Phormium), Beatrice.  But first, let's make sure we have the right bug.  Is this the culprit?

http://floriculture.osu.edu/archive/oct97/mealy2.html

If so, there are a few ...

Another great question came through Ask Gardenerd this week:

"We have white flies on our hibiscus trees, and I was wondering if there is a pesticide free way to get rid of them.  The infestation is on one tree, and I don't want it to spread to the other trees or anything else in our garden. We have dogs, and I don't want to use malathion or diazinone.  What would be safe to use?Thanks!"

In many cases, your hose is your best friend.  If you have a hose nozzle set on my favorite setting: Kill (read: Jet or Full), you ...