Is your plant looking unhealthy with dappled, spotted or misshapen leaves? Have you noticed them dropping leaves or looking a speckled?
Some houseplants are more susceptible to scale infestation including schefflera, palm, bird of paradise, philodendron, and fiddle leaf figs.
Take a closer look, do you spot armored shaped bugs in the leaf or stem crevices? They are often clustered together. You may also notice sticky, clear droplets of 'honeydew' on the leaves.
Chances are you discovered a scale infestation.
These little insects do a fair amount of damage to otherwise healthy looking plants and work fairly quickly too. But don't worry, you are in the right place, we got you and your plant!
Dealing with pests doesn’t need to be a stressful or toxic chore anymore. Instead, you can enjoy the ritual and relax knowing that you are giving your plant babies a nutritious drink while building their immunity to pests and disease.
How? Plant medicines such as Lavender, Tulsi, Peppermint, Yarrow, Comfrey, Aloe vera, and Chamomile are infused into our Sacred Leaf Tonic not only to feed plants, but also for their inherently calming benefits to humans. Sink deeper into botanical bliss with the added bonus of aromatherapy while spraying your plants! And, if you spray some on your skin, it's actually a good thing!
Our tonics to the rescue!
We've tested our Sacred Soil and Sacred Leaf Tonics against these pests and are excited to share that we have found success! The result after a few months of consistent care are happily glowing plants that radiate with new growth and health!
When it comes to scale we've found tropical, leafy types like philodendron, palms and Bird of Paradise are the most common victims. Here are a few pictures from one of our clients homes where we discovered a fairly advanced infestation.
When the Pink Princess (pictured below) arrived, it was FROSTED with scale eggs and scale. Pre tonic life, this would have been a long, stressful uphill battle, but it actually became a beautiful transformation to facilitate. It took a little over a month using our Sacred Tonics to completely eradicate the scale. Being consistent with this Sacred Plant Ritual is vital for success.
Here’s how we did it:
Week 1
Before we began treatment using just the tonics, we mixed up a batch of alcohol solution in a 16oz spray bottle. This immediately dries up the soft body type scale. We recommend doing this treatment away from other plants and any direct sunlight and to wipe down the entire plant after this first alcohol application.
In a spray bottle mix:
1/2 teaspoon 70% rubbing alcohol
1/4 teaspoon Sacred Soil Tonic (a gentle alternative to soap)
16 oz water
shake well
Spray down the entire plant (front & back of leaves, stem, topsoil) and then wipe off and throw away the paper towels. If the scale is armored and hard shelled you may need to use a Qtip to remove the larger, stronger ones.
Then let the healing begin!
For the first week, this princess got a Sacred Leaf Shower using Sacred Leaf Tonic We sprayed the first application and used a paper towel to wipe off all the remaining scale visible and disposed of the paper towel.
Then sprayed again for the next three days in a row and then took a day off. We continued in this pattern for the first ten days making sure to keep our plant out of direct sunlight during this first stage of treatment as the leaves are more sensitive to UV light while coated in multiple doses of Sacred Leaf Tonic.
*Note: you can rinse your plant off in the shower or with a hose between treatments but it is not necessary
During the entire treatment process, this plant also received a dose of Sacred Soil Tonic at every watering for an added layer of pest protection from the inside out.
Weeks 2-4
Over the next few weeks, we sprayed with Sacred Leaf Tonic every 3 days and continued in this pattern until there were no longer new eggs being hatched. From here, we adjusted back to our regular ritual: weekly showers for maintenance. Spraying this plant was key in not only washing off the scale and their eggs physically, but also in making this plant inhabitable for these pests. For added pest treatment and protection, we sprayed the topsoil with Sacred Leaf Tonic once a week too.
Flash forward to today….this princess is thriving!
We are so grateful to protect our precious plants with confidence using our botanical tonics and let’s be honest, if you’re anything like us, protecting your babies is a MUST!
You got this! And we are here if you have any questions. Just email: support@sacredelements.world
with love,
Team SE