Aeonium help please?

Hi all,

I'm completely new to plants, and succulents, and the forum.
I'm not generally great with plants but found myself in possession of a couple of pots of succulents for some sentimental reasons, so am trying take care of them.
I'm in a little high rise apartment in Melbourne and they live in a pot in the covered balcony. There is no garden/natural piece of land.

I've noticed little bugs (photo) which I thought might be aphids on the aeonium for a few months, and have been wiping/spraying them off with water or soapy water. Although they have been decreasing in numbers, and I'm now finding perhaps 0-3 bugs per rosette, I'm finding increasing amounts of leaf damage, more than when there were more of them.
I find it hard to keep track of what changes there are as the plant has been sprouting new growths in all directions and I can't even remember which I've already looked for the bugs in at each check, but it has got to the point where pretty much every rosette/whorl and even the newer/younger ones are affected now.
Thought it was time to ask if this damage is even related to the ?aphids, or some other sort of plant disease, or what else should I think of?
How can I manage it?

Thanks so much.

Little black bugs, leaves green smear when squished. Rarely it's a small greenish translucent thing running across the rosette.


Leaf damage now



Beautiful then

Hi and welcome to the forum. I'm not an expert on succulents but they sound like black bean aphids to me. Do they look anything like this?



If that's the case then there are a number of natural predators that can be used to control them.

I.e. lady bettles

Being situated where you are though you may have to use chemical controls. There are some natural formulas that work to keep them at bay and what you have been doing will definitely help.

Thanks!
Yeah I guess they might look like that but my eyes don't give such a great magnification!
I saw about ladybugs too but I don't think they would be happy in my concrete jungle.... There is a spider on the plant and I wondered if it would help eat the aphids.

I guess I was wondering whether that leaf damage is really from the aphids or something else, given that I am seeing more damage as I see less aphids. Or whether something else is going on.

I suspect the leaf damage happened when the leaves were really small and there were more aphids plentiful but you have only started to notice the deformed and damaged leaves as they get older. At least this is what I see with mealy bugs. Perhaps try spraying ALL your plants with white oil. Buy a pack and make it up yourself rather than using the 750ml spayer. less convenient but much cheaper.

If you are really over the issue buy some of the stuff called resolva from bunnings. Its a systemic poison that's taken up by the plant. You just pour a small amount of the granules at base of plant and it will get rid of anything chewing on the plant and last for several weeks or generally long enough that any eggs that hatch are also doomed which breaks the cycle. Its very strong stuff but also effective. I wouldn't use it on anything that will attract bees or birds (i.e flowers) or something you intend to eat however.

Lastly if you want maintenance free plants try some euphorbias as aside from being very tough these fellas also come with their own built in bug poison. (-;

Thanks! I'll see how it goes and look those up.

yick! watering exposed a shallow root with a clump of little bugs.
Would this be aphid central where they are reproducing? I saw perhaps 3 on the leaves this time.
Or are root aphids different from black bean/other types of aphids in what they do/live/eat.

I did remember a whole heap of little flying isects around the pot a couple of weeks ago too and now wonder about fungus gnats or anything that might be similar, that end up flying about.

Was going to wait and watch progress a bit but now I know they are all hiding in there I guess I'm off to get some... chemicals..

If it ends up looking like it's going to die then you could take stem or leaf cuttings. Crassulaceae can be really easy to propagate that way.

If they're just aphids then have you considered leaving it for a day or two completely immersed in water? That works for ants (and about a week of it worked to rid one of my cycads of scale too) and this plant could probably take it better than other more extreme xerophytes. No guarantees, but it is an option.

Thanks, happy to hear about all the options and give some a go! I'm really new to plants and it's hard to know how reliable information on random websites is, is why I'm asking on an Australian forum

Not even sure my diagnosis of root aphids is correct but, maybe.
Now that I know they are probably all in the soil/roots, I was wondering whether the white oil and other sprays are applicable as they all say to spray on the leaves. Not sure if it's a life cycle thing I'm doing with that method or is it appropriate to spray in the soil? Have not found the resolva yet.

Umm, please excuse the ignorance, does this mean... sit the pot of plant in a large container of water, and the water just covers the pot and soil, or is it supposed to cover the entire plant too??

I'm not saying to do it. If the plant doesn't take it well it could kill it. But, if you choose the risk then it should be for the entire plant, so that there is at least a few cm of water above the highest point (to account for evaporation, splashes, etc.). Also make sure that the water is clean if you choose this option. I think you should wait for someone else to say something on this matter before you try anything drastic like this though.

Oh wow, thanks. Not rushing into anything yet...
Someone else I spoke to did suggest soaking the soil/pot in water for a couple of hours, but they weren't sure if that would really help.