Hi all! Been using this site as it's a great resource, and finally joined. Think I'm dealing with a few different kinds of pests on my purslane plants, and I was hoping maybe folks on here would be able to help me identify what they are so as to get rid of them! Some bugs are little black dots, others are little white bugs, and there seems to be spiderwebbby-type things on them too. I thought maybe the white bugs combined with that spiderwebby like characteristic could be mealy bug? Yik:) Anyway, here's some photos. Fingers crossed. Let me know what you guys think!

Thanks so much,

Gabrielle


PS- some have spread to my other succulents, too- not sure if that's helpful info!

Gabrielle

I can't identify the bugs but wondering if you have tried hosing them off? Might be aphids?

Hopefully someone will come along and have an answer.

So glad you've joined us

Hi & welcome! Agree, looks like aphids. You can pinch the affected tips off, and moving the pot might help, if that's an option. Ants might have put the aphids on the plants to farm their honeydew. I've never had a problem getting rid of aphids by making minor efforts to trim the affected plant parts (& rinsing other kinds of plants that might not grow back as fast as Portulaca.) Dabbing at them with a Q-tip damp with rubbing alcohol should also kill the ones you touch and help clean up the tips if you don't want to trim them. Aphids are not a permanent malady like scale or mealybug if efforts are made to thwart them. I think the white things are discarded, shedded skins. If they don't move, that would be evidence toward that.

Also, put them in full sun. It will make purslane plants stronger and more able to deal with pests like aphids.

Shade makes purslane weak and encourages the growth of pests.

Both @Tiffany and @Jeff are correct in my oh-so-humble-opinion. Purslane loves full sun.
I never had an aphid problem on mine but snipping off is a great idea. And I used the qtip with alcohol on lots of other issues.

Welcome to NGA and the Purslane-Portulaca forum!

Hello everyone,

I am brand new to gardening. This summer was the 1st time ever that I planted flowers. I was never good at raising house plants & so I just never thought about gardening till I moved into the perfect home.

Please bare w/me as I have quite a few problems/questions.

I am also having an issue with my two varieties of Portulaca. One has brownish/reddish stems w/all red flowers & the other green stems w/multi colors of pinks, cream & white & solid colors.

I erroneously assumed the plant required the same soil it came in and so I used regular Miracle Grow soil not the quick draining or moisture control and had no idea sand mixed in would help.

Regardless, my plants thrived all summer until around August when many issues occurred w/all sorts of my plants.

Well, now I'm pretty certain both have black stem disease. I'm planning to repot them in more appropriate material. And I'm using an antifungal spray.

The green stemmed plant has these tiny, tiny pin head black spots on its stems. I had assumed it was a normal part of the plant as it grew older. But, I finally decided to clip a stem to see if these spots would rub off and low & behold w/a bit of fingernail effort they came off!

Do you think this could be a mite of some kind? I worry about using oils because I would imagine it would interfere with photosynthesis. Not sure what other options I have.

Before I noticed this issue my green & red stemmed plant's flowers would take forever to bloom & when they did they wouldn't fully open and would have gray stuff all over them. What could this be? Mold? If so, is it systemic? Can I cure them? Or are they a total loss? I just hate to think I failed these beautiful living things!

My green stemmed plant began life w/me as a fully packed plant with tons of flowers. I had no idea I needed to cut their height and still fear doing so. Will the cut stems produce flowers again?

The green stemmed one has now become spaced out, i.e. not as full looking and tall. The red one was about dead when I rescued it from Walmart. They don't take very good care of their plants. My BF named it Charlie after Charlie Brown's Xmas tree. He never filled out & has become leggy but he did thrive well for a while. He's got more black stem rot and I've lost about half of the plant.

I'm planning to bring them in for the winter as they've both been in large pots all summer.

Any ideas or thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

I've attached a pic of the "dots". Sorry it's sorta blurry but my phone won't focus on tiny details.

Sorry to write so much!

WELCOME Kara

Please tell us what zone you're in as that sometimes helps answer questions on growing.

I'm not familiar with the issue you're having but I'm sure someone will come along that does. Never apologize for giving too much information - more is better