07/06/2025 - Day 98
Short Facts:
- 86 cm tall
- VPD @ 1.0
- Approx. 900 PPFD
- Fungus gnats still there
- Thrips seen
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Sorry for not updating the diary over the past few weeks. I had a medical emergency in the family, which caused quite a bit of chaos.
There’s not much to report — her flowers are getting bigger and bigger. The smell is really special and intense!
It looks like senescence is starting. She has lost some color in her leaves and is now turning more yellow. Just to be safe, I added a small amount of Epsom salt.
And of course, there are still problems:
The fungus gnats are still around, although there are far fewer than before. I’d say their numbers are down by about 80% compared to the peak, so at least some progress has been made. I’m still fighting them and have ordered more predatory mites.
Unfortunately, I also noticed some leaves that didn’t look good, so I took a closer look. The result: I found thrips on both plants. It doesn’t look like a full-blown infestation yet, so I hope I can get it under control. The predatory mites should help, and I’ve also ordered some green lacewing larvae to support the fight and hopefully wipe them out.
This whole situation is really frustrating. I recently had to deal with thrips on one of my biggest Alocasias, and I’ve been battling a persistent aphid infestation on my largest Dieffenbachia for weeks now.
I’ve never had this many issues with pests before.