Fungus Gnats in my Norfolk Island Pine (growing, tomato, insect)

[iiCoffee]

Hello. I purchased a Norfolk Island Pine this past Christmas and it has been doing wonderfully until the past couple of weeks. Since I've had my Norfolk, I have repotted it once, about a month ago and it has seemed to take the repotting well. Unfortunately I think I had over watered it when I did repot it and without knowing much about the Norfolk, think I have continued to over water it and this is why I have these Fungus Gnats in my tree. I've done plenty of reading and have done all I can and what has been recommended to eradicate these little pests. My question is how long do I wait to water my Norfolk again, as it is in a pretty large pot now? I do not know if I should water it if the soil is dry in the first couple of inches as I am worried about possible root rot and wonder if there is to much moisture deeper down within the pot. Also since I've had an issue with the Fungus Gnats, does this mean I have root rot and do I need to replant my Norfolk yet again? Thanks in advance for any advice, as I really love my Norfolk and would love to have it as part of the family for many more years to come. Have a great day.

[seasick]

I would say water it just barely, barely, just sparingly, for quite a while.

I hope someone more knowledgable comes along...My mom had one in a pot, and watered it just barely its whole life - I finally saw some growing in the ground, "wild" so to speak - totally different look to them - !

[Rowan123]

Fungus gnats don't necessarily mean root rot. I've had them in my plants and haven't had root rot. I've gone a couple of weeks without watering my Norfolk pine and it's been fine but I think it will depend on how wet the soil was to start with as to how little water you can give it and not kill the tree.

Good luck.

[phonelady61]

fungus gnat are nasty lil buggers just got rid of them myself had to bleach my pots and throw most of my tomatoe plants away because of them . well anyway get this stuff called gnat nix and put it in the plant it will kill the gnats . I did not know about it before I got those buggers . Good luck and yes just barely water your plants .

[luv4horses]

At the moment, you probably should gently replace the top 2 or three inches of soil, just in case algae spores and insect eggs are present. Then, the amount of watering you do will depend on how much soil there is. The bottom of the pot should be resting on lifters so that there is normally air space under the drain holes. Whenever you water, add enough that water drains through the bottom. When the draining stops remove the drain-thru from the cache basin under the lifters. This is usually a 'saucer'. You can use a baster. Do not water for at least 5-7 days, then repeat about weekly. If you find the pot is horribly thirsty each time, then you can water every 4 days, but allowing free draining is critical. For lifters you can use stones, bricks, commercial pot feet.

[iiCoffee]

Thank you all so much for your advice. My current pot has no drain holes but hopefully by the end of the day it will. I am also going to replace the first few inches of soil and while I'm at it see how the soil feels towards the bottom of the pot. Then I will water it as directed and see how Norfolk does. I really do hope this works. Fingers crossed. Hope you all have a great day.

By the way, I seem to have gotten the fungus gnat problem under control. Still have a few of them hanging around my Norfolk but not in the same masses. Good ole fashioned sand and those wonderful pest control sticky traps do make a difference.