Cold plant

[hopeishere]

We had fungus gnats on a houseplant so I put it outside. Unfortunately it was very cold last night. I've brought it back inside but it's very now droopy. Will it recover 🙏🏻

It depends on what kind of plant it is and how cold it got.

I think it's a Chinese evergreen. Was about -2 but sheltered.

Ah, they're tropical/subtropical plants and need warm temperatures. I think you'll be lucky if it survives the cold shock.

For the future - ordinary fly spray intended for indoor use works on fungus gnats, but not on the larvae.

Otherwise, take the plant outside, empty out all the compost and shake it off the roots - you'll find there are transparent grubs which are the larval stage - if you have a lot of flies on one plant they're likely to be hatching out from the larvae. Replant in a clean pot with clean compost.

Putting a layer of gravel on top of the pot may deter the females from laying their eggs in the soil.

The strange thing was this plant had lived very happily in a pot for YEARS and I decided to repot it this year and that's when it got infected. I've no idea where the gnats came from. There were loads of them.

It has sentimental value so I'm very sad it seems to be dead. Two of the stalks look ok so I'm considering repotting those bits.

Sciara flies (fungus gnats) are often found in bags of compost, so that might be where they originated from. As MereDint says, you need to remove the compost it’s in, and wash the roots, in order to get rid of the larvae.

I would take it out of its pot and see if the roots are still healthy. If they look plump, I would divide the plant in two. Wash of the soil to get rid of any grubs Replant one half in fresh houseplant compost in as small a pot as you can find. Put the other half in a bottle with water. The one in the water should have just one or two leaves left on, if there are any. Hopefully the roots will grow.

I think neem oil is also good for fungus gnats?

Thanks. Have been looking at propagation and it looks fairly easy will also take it out of the pot it's in and repot.

I thought you only got fungus gnats if you overwatered the soil..?
I sometimes get small numbers of what I’ve always thought are scarid flies/fungus gnats after watering my pothos because I tend to go months and months not watering them then almost drown them when I remember and get a coating of that white mould on top of the soil as a result

I'm think when I repotted it I began overwatering it! So am not sure how I got them!

I thought you only got fungus gnats if you overwatered the soil They like damp humus rich soil. So more of a problem in coir-based composts (hence the advice for a layer of gravel on top). And it's OK to empty the teapot on your houseplants, but don't empty the tea leaves, just the tea. (I learned that the hard way).

And it's OK to empty the teapot on your houseplants, but don't empty the tea leaves, just the tea. (I learned that the hard way)
What happens if you empty the leaves?
I often put a used split teabag on the soil for my roses?

What happens if you empty the leaves? You get fungus gnats

That's on indoor plants. Fine and beneficial to give your outdoor roses teabags.

The larvae of fungus gnats are a problem for plants with tender fleshy roots - they're not a problem on plants with tough or fibrous roots. Indoors, they are a nuisance because the adults crawl around the pot in large numbers and fly up if disturbed.