Well, an update on my mealy bug this year.
I started spraying with neem oil, as soon as I first saw the first mealy bugs in July.
The good news is, it seems to work.
The bad news is, not always and not quickly.
Although I was vigilant and quick to respond, my replacement Anisodotea El Rayo died in days. All the foxgloves under the loquat tree died, although a few under the orange tree survived.
Artemisia Lambrook Silver has lost most of it's growth. The one remaining stem, STILL has mealy bug, in spite of repeatedly spraying.
It seems that the mealy bugs on some plants are not so responsive to the neem oil. For an example, the bugs on my Coronilla glauca died, but the ones on my Isotoma axillaris just a foot away, show no sign of dying. In fact it is the plant that is dying.
A lot of plants are now clear.
But there are others that it seems to have no effect on.
This is strange.
Why would it work on some and not others?
Daisy