Palm tree and lil white bugs - Knowledgebase Question

Tropical Plants
Lorain, oh
Question by cmehidden
May 20, 2007
We bought a palm from Home Depot about a month ago. We noticed white little worm like bugs in the soil. We changed the soil and made sure we cleaned roots good. Now a few weeks later there are more in the soil. My question is what are they, will they harm the plant, and what to do to get rid of them? Thank you.


Image
Answer from NGA
May 20, 2007

0

 What you describe sound like Grindal worms and believe it or not, some people intentionally grow them in potting soil to feed their aquarium fish! These little worms are related to earthworms. They won't harm your palm and they won't venture out of the potting soil. They are simply digesting the organic matter in the potting soil, and they are also aerating it, which should make your palm very happy.

The worms do not like acid soil so you can kill them off by feeding your palm with an acidified fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro, Peter's or Schultz's. These water soluable fertilizers should be diluted to half strength and used every 2-3 weeks throughout the growing season.

Best wishes with your palm!

You must be signed in before you can post questions or answers. Click here to join!

« Return to the Garden Knowledgebase Homepage

Member Login:

[ Join now ]

Garden.org Homepage
Help using the site
About
Contact
Terms of Service
Privacy
Memberlist
Acorns
Links
Ask a Question
Getting Started Gardening
Newsletter
NGA Merch

© 1972 - 2021 National Gardening Association

Times are presented in US Central Standard Time

Pinterest
Facebook
Youtube
Twitter
Instagram

Today's site banner is by dirtdorphins and is called "Globularia"

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.