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Just a quick question to all the experts on here about mite infested plants: what kind of impact do mites have on overall growth? It was just brought up on another blog ( cloud forest gardener ) and a member was saying that there wasn't much or if any impact on the infested bamboos growth. I beg to disagree but before I muster up a reply I'm in need of some definite education first What are some people's experiences etc?

Thanks. Kailey

Dear Kailey,

I have no experience of my own, but i found the following citation in an article about mites:

„Mite feeding by S. nanjingensis reduces sugar and chlorophyll content in bamboo leaves; moreover it reduces leaf areas, and culms become thinner and longer (Zhang et al., 2000).“

Reference:
http://www.bulletinofinsectology.org/pd ... izzari.pdf

Best wishes
Rai

PS.: I have a bamboo garden in Germany and I’m new in this forum.

If the mite infestation is bad enough it can kill the plant. They feed on the plants juices!

Rai - Welcome to the Forum!

Is this new-to-Italy S. nanjingensis winter-hardy? I assume most insects can withstand at least some freezing but is it likely to survive a long cold winter? As I recall from the EBS it is not in Northern Europe yet and restricted to parts of Italy and a bit north of there. Of course Italy must export large numbers of bamboos to all parts of Europe so a threat could be looming.

Kailey - I saw the first mite-infested bamboos was at Van Dusen Gardens in Vancouver, BC. The damage on the Phyllostachys was hideous; one would give up growing bamboos if they looked like that. A friend moved from Halifax to Surrey, BC just about the time Fargesia murieliae first flowered here and set seed (1999 maybe). According to him the plants he took with him were fine until just a couple of years ago and then this: see picture. I suspect there was a growing infestation that passed under his radar. As foxd & Rai say there is no way that murieliae can function normally with this sort of damage. I told my friend he must walk through a car wash before visiting next time.

Interesting stuff everybody and thanks for the quick response. Really it makes sense that a infected bamboo wouldn't perform as well as a healthy vibrant bamboo.

Now to continue with my mite free bamboo addiction Mites not welcome!