Hi all
I have had a lot of marigold and chrysanthemum damage recently. All were very healthy and now are turning a pale green with the leaves shriveling up and dieing. I can see no insect with my naked eye, I was wondering if it might be spider mites? I just sprayed with garlic pepper tea and will hope for the best....2 weeks ago I sprayed molasses and orange oil with no effect..Any ideas?

Look on the underside of the leaves. If you see slight webbing with some small specks, that's spider mites. You can also put a piece of white paper under a leaf and thump it to see if any of the specks come off. Those specks are the spider mites.

How often do you water these plants?

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Sandi
Texas Certified Nursery Professional
Texas Master Naturalist
Organic gardener
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Hi
If it is spider mites your plants will have a spotted look and will die slowly. You can see them although they are small. Look for small specs that move when disturbed.
Neem oil will kill them but you have to get it on them and since they are usually on the underside of leaves they are hard to completely eradicate.
I have heard that (use this on non edible plants only as it is not natural) No pest Strips (diclorvos) under a plastic bag over the plant for a night or two will completely kill them. The thing to note is that spider mites are only attracted to plants that have trouble taking water. If a plant is healthy it will defend its self against spider mites. I would only use the No Pest Strip as a last resort to save a plant from severe infestation.
There are other ways to completely kill mites, most involve a complete dip of the plant in your favorite natural insecticide (Neem, Pepper, soap, peppermint etc) I like Neem best as it is used as a skin conditioner in India and does kill the spider mites well. Don't apply Neem in direct sunlight. Use it late in the day and let if completely dry before bright light to avoid nitrogen burning.

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Thanks for the information! I am not sure what the problem is. I did not see any mites on underside of the leaves. I have noticed that the plants are improving since I sprayed with garlic/pepper tea.