It’s because Janis & I understand the need to be proactive. In summary: This project started in late March and the results evaluated in mid-September. If fuchsia societies cannot offer the general public, a gallmite control method that is, simple, easy to apply and reasonably effective, we cannot realistically expect to gain new members. 2011 Vision: The galls can easily be removed (cut off) in about the same amount of time it takes to dead head an old rose flower. Eureka and Crescent City members said this was an especially bad year in respect to the mite. Early Symptoms: Thickening, distortion, hairiness and possible colour changes. We need to stop promoting our own bad press . I am constantly reminded of that, as I do routine plant maintenance, when I see mild to moderate amounts of plant damage caused by cutter bees, aphids, spider mites, rust, torn leaves, sun burnt leaves, broken branches and a few gall mite plant blemishes, all of which are a part of nature’s normal plant life cycle. I cut off the developing fuchsia galls before they become a problem. He said, even if I was lucky enough to kill all the gall mites on all my fuchsias today, tomorrow the neighborhood hummingbird who has been visiting uncared for fuchsias in the wild, or the uncared for fuchsias of the neighborhood, will visit my yard and possible bring in a new generation of gall mites. Director and Past President of the AFS, Elsie and I joined the American Fuchsia Society in 1985 and the AFS Board of Directors in 1989. What is Aculops (Genus) fuchsiae (species) Kiefer (person who first described it scientifically) – a microscopic mite that will burrow into the nice juicy parts of fuchsias. Peter Baye article: Learning to Live with Fuchsia Gall Mites in our July-September 2009 AFS Bulletin. Cut off any infected areas at least 2 in (5.1 cm) below the damage. The overall objective of common sense gall mite control is focusing on reducing the number of gall mites living on our fuchsias. These are not pesticides per se, but plant growth stimulants that control pests by physical methods. Prune away any new growth that is showing early symptoms. The round bodies in the photo are mite eggs. When do the galls become a problem? They advocated the use of products that were not recommended by the manufacturer. and Bristol UK IMPORTANT: Both fuchsias get various amounts of gall mite plant blemishes 3 to 5 times as year. Alternatively bin the plant in your local council green waste. In our garden this method of control works. You can try cutting off affected stems but as the mites are microscopic the chances are pretty high that you won’t get them all. It was first described from specimens in Brazil. The fuchsia gall mite may be a microscopic creature, but it has a devastating effect on fuchsia plants. During June, July and August five plants per month were affected by gall mite. “Plant Invigorator” products, may also be worth a try. Al Sydnor, e-mail aesydnor@earthlink.net. Today, though, fuchsias are still being grown and widely available all along the Pacific Coast. The garden had 144 fuchsia plants in it, sixteen of which were mite resistant, 11% of the total. Now that we have accepted the fact that gall mites are not going away, for various reasons, we have moved on to a more practical, common sense approach to controlling the amount of plant damage, the gall mites can cause. Those fuchsias could be put on a high maintenance list, and would not be recommended to new members, but would still be available to experienced growers who are willing to put forth the additional effort required to maintain these plants. The fuchsia magellanica variants seem to be particularly sensitive to the mite.