Assessment on #spidermites and #Calatheas! I’ve started collecting #Marantaceae plants around a month ago and the first thing I have observed from various nurseries is spider mites on almost all my plants right out the door as soon as they either arrive in shipping or picking them up at the nursery! I’m of the opinion it’s a given and people shouldn’t chuck their plants or toss them just because they find these little bastards. I’ve ordered from various nurseries, @the_plant_stand_of_arizona , @jungleboxaz , Lowe's Home Improvement, The Home Depot, Etsy, and @pistilsnursery. Every single order of 14/15 Calatheas had spider mites, either red or non-red and 2-3 specimens had thrips. Nothing had mealy bugs, thank goodness. . The first line of defense I'm testing is this: I sprayed all plants with 30% alcohol slash 70% distilled water mixture which I noticed causing a lot of pain and death with these mites via loupe observation. The next step I’m taking is a strong dose of Azamax -A commercial derivative of Neem Oil which works wonders on eliminating most pests. . After learning all of this with a fair amount of consistency when buying Calathea prayer plants I would declare it a given and common to discover these stubborn mites; it comes with the territory and it’s up to you to fight them. I don’t think we can blame the nurseries or growers because this is a consistent phenomenon that I haven’t observed with any other plant variety! . #stromanthetriostar #plantresearch #pests #azamax #mealybugs #redspidermites #pestcontrol #stromanthea #triostar #plantsofinstagram #calatheas #arizonalife #southernarizona (at North Phoenix, Phoenix) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMK9C8pBDnq/?igshid=a46d66cf6tfl