Piper methysticum

[planthelper]

today, i used the strong stuff on my, kava plant, facing mite's, and other problems....

i tried everything to clean her up (using less "drastic measures"), but failed, now i sprayed her, with the stuff i hardly use...

i hate using chemicals, but i hate it, if i can't, get rid of a pest.

[IndianDreaming]

Nice wooden chest!

[The_Crack_Fox]

So jelly!

really want a kava plant, will have to add it to my christmas list;D

[Mlg]

Suggestion - PyBo pyrethrum (I bought mine over the web) mixed with Lux pure soap flakes (the latter usually available from supermarkets) in a spray bottle. You will need to mix the soap flakes with hot water for them to dissolve, then add cold water and the pyrethrum. This PyBo stuff is great but expensive. Mind you, unlike the pyrethrum you get at Bunnigs, you only need 1ml per litre rather than 10 ml per litre. The Bunnings pyrethrum would probably also work.

In case you are wondering I am not employed by or profit from sales of PyBo or Lux.

Works on all my plants including my kavas, never any damage, burning or setback of growth.

Cheers,

Mlg.

[planthelper]

after i used the mitecide, i waited a few day's and than drenched the pot, of the kava plant, in a mixture of water and pyrethrum, in an attempt to get rid of the gnat larvae, and it seemed it worked... i get some good growth now.

i guess when the edges of the leaves turn brown and dry up, that this is a sign of gnat problems.

i also remeberd that traditionally wood ash get's sprinkled around the base of this plant, so i did this, and i hope the wood ash will aswell protect the plants from new gnat attacks.

aswell, i took measures to protect, the kava plant, from the wind, which i was told, they don't like.

mlg, wellcome to the forums, not many people grow kava, good onya.

Edited November 17, 2012 by planthelper

[Mlg]

Thank PH.

I'd never heard that about wood ash or wind - thanks for the information. Not that I could do much about the wind, we had some unreal storms over the weekend.

I'm glad I've never had mite issues. The worst I've had to date is caterpillars and those damned scrub turkeys digging up plants. Oh, and a possum that developed a taste for kava leaves at one stage, that was a pain. I had to cover my smaller potted plants with bird netting but couldn't do anything about the bigger plants in ground. Still, it got tired of eating it after several months.

Kava is one of my favourite plants - something about the enormous leaves makes it relaxing just to look at.

Cheers,

Mlg.

[sethomopod]

Another to try with mites (or thrips) is abamectim..

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

I've successfully battled mites outdoors with pyrethrum but it took 10+ applications plus some soap as an extra wetter. Mites generally hate humidity too so a possible sprinkler on a timer each hr for a minute while using pyrethrum could really mess with their breeding cycle. The eggs of most mites hatch in 1-4 days I believe so the process can go for 11 days if you wanna be reallllly thorough...

I've also successfully used predator bugs. I always wanted to play with keeping an infected mite population going, isolated somewhere, to keep feedin the permilisis (?) mite and do a weekly release into my garden to erraticate the buggers for good. Maybe a tub of fresh plant material once or twice a week will keep the mites happy and isolated, and do the same for the predator bugs feedin them an infected leaf or two each day... Eh, when I get mites again and buy the permilisis (?) ill give it a go...

D00d

[mindperformer]

With Kava I would also say its no proplem to use chemicals because the leaves should not be eaten, after all I don't use any chemicals, the most poisonous I use sometimes is a tobacco- brew.

Did you try Swirskii- predator mites? Water- extracts from Piper guineense (in african stores) is very effective, especially with neem, garlic, chili and clove-oil.

An extract of Chenopodium ambrosioides was also very effective, especially when extracted with anise powder. It was found that both constituents (Ascaridol and Anethole work synergistically).

[Mlg]

And, of course, since you do not harvest the roots until the plant is from 3-5 years old, any systemic chemicals should gone long before harvest.

In the interests of passing on some word-of-mouth info, an Islander told me to bury the plants fairly deep in the pots as they develop a bulb at the base of the stems - I've found this works well over the years. New leads can still find the surface even if they're over 6 inches beneath the surface.

And just in passing - once I recover from surgery, I will probably be offering a few kava plants for sale if anyone is interested. It appears they can be quite hard to come by.

[planthelper]

an Islander told me to bury the plants fairly deep in the pots as they develop a bulb at the base of the stems - I've found this works well over the years. New leads can still find the surface even if they're over 6 inches beneath the surface.

 

that means, in short, to burry the plant deeper, is good for the plant?! and..., specialy in pots?

i thought of adding potting mix, to my plant, because the, only spot where she gets new shoots i like, (the ones comming straight from the bottom of the plant) is 5cm above my soil surface.

so it will not harm, to burry the base of the kava plant deeper, good to know, i will add heaps of soil to my pot, right now.

good info Mlg.

my old kava plant, was a beauty, and displayed lots of shoots, arising from the bulbious area.

off to my kava plant....

[Mlg]

Sam said "plant them deep" so I have been. The plants in the picture - those with lawn clippings on top have been potted - fairly deeply for over 12 months. The other two are plants are a couple I dug out of the ground and potted when I moved house recently, approx six weeks ago. I will top them up with soil when I'm feeling better - probably in a few weeks.

[planthelper]

unfortunately, i' quite convinced that above pic, does show piper auritrum, and not piper methysticum.

check out how, some of the veins on a leaf, of a piper auritrum, run into the middle vein.

whilst all veins run into a central point close to the stem of the leaf, with a piper methysticum.

another give away, are those small spots, on foremost the base of a auritrum stem, kava doesn't display them.

pitty, there are a lot of auritrums going round as methysticums...

[pinkoyd]

There are several ways to tell the difference between Kava and P auritum. First the crushed leaves of auritum smell like root beer. In fact it's called Root beer plant here in Florida. The leaves ar MUCH bigger on auritum up to a foot across whereas kava (at least the ones I'm familiar with) has maybe 5 or 6 inch wide leaves. The plant is generally much hardier than kava, taking droughts, cold and poor soils in stride. These would all stress kava if not kill it outright. Also auritum never develops the large root sytem that kava does. And it has much faster growth rate, easily reaching seven feet over the course of a long summer when planted in the ground. I could go on, but you get the idea.

Sorry to hear you guys are having a problem with misidentified plants.

Edited November 23, 2012 by pinkoyd

[Mlg]

Nope, it appears it's just me and my ex-neighbour Sam who have problems. We live and learn.

Thanks very much for the ID planthelper and pinkoyd. I'm calling it positive on my stuff, P auritum.

Whether or not Sam's "bury it deep" is of assistance as a useful suggestion must be queried in the circumstances. Still, he was half Hawaiian and half Solomon Islander, so he most likely knew what he was talking about re real kava.

Cheers,

Mlg.

[mindperformer]

As often happens, a P. auritum was again displayed as P. methysticum. Did you order it from KTBotanicals?

You can wrap fish in the leaves and stew it.

After all, I think your auritum will also survive a cutback, as it is less susceptible for fungal disease like methysticum

Edited November 24, 2012 by mindperformer

[pinkoyd]

FWIW, auritum is completely bulletproof in my climate, to the point of being invasive. Freezes kill it to the ground every year and it comes back reliably (We get two or three freezes in an average year, but never longer than two or three days each.). Our 'soil' is really just bare sand and it grows like I was soaking it in fish emulsion. I never water or pay the slightest attention to it and it has taken over one corner of my yard, putting out underground runners up to several meters long. It's easy to keep within bounds though, as it pulls up very easily.

Unless you live somewhere truly tropical kava is a much fussier plant.

Edited November 25, 2012 by pinkoyd

[planthelper]

input asked, what causes the leaves to brown up and curl, witn my piper methysticum?

i observed this problem before, and maybe, it has to do with wet feet, and dry above ground growth.

maybe a hothous would be the answere?

[mauve]

So, how is your kava plant now, PH ? Fine i hope !

[planthelper]

So, how is your kava plant now, PH ? Fine i hope !

almost dead, and it got only some small shoots and leaves left.

maybe, it has a disease inside which i can't cure.

[whitewind]

Kava is difficult, I've had two and both died slowly with no obvious reason. Perhaps they need mutual organisms for good health?

[Bigred]

try flushing the soil and cutting back affected leaves, just wondering if you are in a dry area maybe the

humidity has a lot to do with it, can you put it in a green house it would take a lot of stress off the new shoots.

[bullit]

i grow mine in 50% good potting mix 50% orchid mix they love the humidity and water but hate soggy feet, i bring mine in[ on tha veranda] for winter soo when it rains or gets cold i bring her in!! mites fuken love this plant !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[planthelper]

guy's i once had a realy big kava plant, and it grew happy at the same location, i'm residing now.

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?app=galleryℑ=315

i know the soggy feet issues and pretty much everything kava likes and dislikes, but this has beaten me.

i even had built a small "glass house" for her, but she didn't improof either.

i have been given sick kavas, and managed to get them healthy again, but this one is a puzzle for me.

Edited February 10, 2013 by planthelper

[mauve]

Kava is a plant i am dreaming of growing...but it looks so delicate outside of its tropical home ! PH, maybe try with another plant ? Or maybe she needs a more aerated soil (with pumice for example) ?