The most effective collection protection practice you can develop is putting newly acquired plants into quarantine before introducing them into your collection. The major challenge of quarantining in a studio apartment is that there isn’t an extra room to put your new plants when you bring them home. One solution is to create a small, designated area to quarantine your plants and prevent insect infestation through typical pathways of pest transfer (through leaf-to-leaf contact, sharing tools and water, and your hands, sleeves and everyday movements).

Importance of Quarantining (Even If A New Plant Appears Clean)

Most infestations begin when you bring a plant into your home, place it among your established plants, and within a week or two the pests make an appearance. Not true! Pest infestations were typically already present before you brought them home – hidden in the leaf joints, undersides of the leaves, in the potting soil, and/or in the nursery sleeve. According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, “it is strongly recommended that after obtaining a new houseplant you should quarantine the new houseplants in a separate room and observe them for a minimum of two weeks.” (discoverandshare.org)

Although you may not have the option of a separate room for quarantining your new plants in a studio apartment, you can still control how pests can spread and use quarantining as a mini biosecurity program. Quarantine prevents pieces of your collection from coming into contact with new plants, using different care tools for each zone (new plants and established plants), and making observing quarantined plants predictable.

Quarantine Method: The Studio Apartment

Your goal is to establish quarantine zones while controlling the number of access points through your apartment. To do this, create three smaller quarantine zones:

• Clean Zone (your collection) – Established plants; no new plants will be brought into the collection unless they pass inspection (graduation).
• Quarantine Zone (new arrivals) – The location(s) farthest from the collection, in order to maintain distance and add barriers.
• Sink/Tub Area (intake and cleanup area) – This is where you will inspect plants, wipe the leaves, separate the plants from their sleeves, and clean up any excess water from watering plants.

Examples of Quarantine Zone Options That Can Work For Studios:

1. A clear storage tote “quarantine box” be the best option to use for (entire plant or plants) as they take up less space in the home than using anything else similar. A clear storage tote has the added benefit of being used as a physical barrier to stop your plants’ leaves from coming in contact with one another and to limit pests (insects) from moving about the greenhouse.
2. If you have a rolling cart, you could place all your quarantine plants on a rolling cart and then wrap a clear shower curtain around the cart to help keep pests out of the quarantine zone. The shower curtain should have air gaps to allow for air movement.
3. If you have a bathroom with a bright window (or other means of illumination) and want to quarantine plants, the bathroom can provide a naturally separate environment for plants. Be sure to store tools in the bathroom that are used during the quarantining of your plants.
4. If you only have a good window to use for quarantine plant care, you need to keep the quarantine plants separate from the other plants in your greenhouse to avoid contamination. Use either cardboard or plastic to create a barrier around the plants in the quarantine area.

Supplies Needing For Plants (Minimum Rental Supplies)

• Determine which others will be stored indoors (Ex: Clear Bin or Cart/Table)
• Use a shallow tray to also create a moistro software area for runoff (Use: Boot Tray)
• Yellow sticky note (To Aid in Monitoring, NOT FUNCTION; An Example of Using Yellow Sticky Note or “GW”)
• Nitrile Gloves (Very Handy Although Not Required) Along With Dishrags/Paper Towels.
• A small Flashlight & Magnifying Glass
• A permanent marker & a roll of Tape (For Labelling Day of Quarantine)
• A designated small Watering Cup, & Disinfect the Cup
• Spraying Insect If Needed: Use Insect Soap Registered with The EPA (Compared to Dish Washing Liquid or Non-Registered Insecticides).

Day 0 (0-24 hours) Intake Routine (15-30 minutes each Plant)

1. Get arranged for the entry or next step for Plants In: (Setting up for multiple plants).
2. Remove all Background Items / Shadows For Stages/ Hide Places.
3. Check Off – Like Reading Instructions, Then Check Off The Following: (1) Under / Top of The Leaves. (2) At Leaf Joint & Leaf Petiole. (3) At New Growth. (4) Hold Stem or Cane, To Check Surface and Soil Area and Drain Hole
4. Do Tap Test To See If Any Moving Insects Are Present (If present then very hard; if none then check for other flying type insect)
5. Wipe Down And Clean (dry using clean damp cloth while supporting the leaf’s weight, in particular when cleaning new leaves).
6. Include A Sticky Note Near The Bottom of Plant For Future Insect Seeing/Insect Flagging.
7. Write On A Label // On Tape: “THIS PLANT BEGAN QUARANTINE ON (INSERT DATE HERE)” Put it in Your Quarantine Zone. Isolate the pot on a separate tray/saucer (no sharing of trays).

How Long Should You Quarantine a New Houseplant in a Studio?? – A Practical Standard: The Standard is 2 to 4 Weeks

If you can only follow one guideline for quarantining, make this your rule: 2 Weeks Minimum! And preferably, longer. The Missouri Botanical Garden suggests that new houseplants be monitored for insect pests for at least 2 weeks. (discoverandshare.org)

Why quarantine for longer (3-4 weeks)? Many insect pests develop very quickly and may not show up until after several watering cycles have been completed. For example, under warm conditions, it would take about 2 weeks for eggs from thrips to develop into the adult stage; similarly, under suitable environmental conditions, fungus gnats may go from egg to adult in approximately 4 weeks.

Quarantine Checklist For Your Plants

• Silver/Scabby Streaks + Tiny Dark Specks: Signs of thrips damage; confirm the presence of adults by shaking leaves over white paper and/or setting up sticky traps and monitoring for cobwebs.
• Fine Webbing + Stippling/Bronzing: Classic sign of spider mites. Eggs can hatch in as little as 4 to 5 days, while full development can take from 1 to 3 weeks, depending on the temperature.
• Clusters of White Cottony Material in Leaf Axils: Often mealybug; treat immediately because they spread quickly.
• Sticky Substance (Honeydew)/Sooty Mold: Commonly found with sap-sucking insects such as scale, whiteflies, and aphids. Must be treated and separated from all other plants in quarantine.
• Distorted New Growth: Indicates to me that there are pests present that like to feed on new (tender) growth (e.g., thrips, mites, and aphids).

If You Find Pests While In Quarantine:

1. Move Plant into a Transportable Container: Use a tote/bin to isolate the plant from all other surfaces so nothing touches it. Any touching of the infected plant to others will spread infestation.
2. Document: Take detailed photographs before treating the plant. This will ensure your follow-up treatments are done in accordance with your photographic memory. You will have pictures to compare as opposed to relying on memory alone.
3. Initial Treatment — Mechanical Removal: Wipe the leaves clean; provide thorough cleaning to the worst damaged areas of the plant; rinse the plant thoroughly wherever possible. Mechanical removal will reduce the pests’ populations quickly.
4. Use Non-Toxic Pesticide First: Many softer-bodied pests can be killed using insecticidal soap; however, they must be sprayed directly if they are going to be controlled successfully. Effective control usually requires a lot of application.
5. Do Not Use Dish Soap as a Substitute: According to Extension recommendations, using dish soap/detergents may significantly increase the chance of injuring plants; therefore, using dish soap as a substitute for pesticide soap is really not an option.

• Quarantine “Day 1” starts with the last confirmed sighting of the plant, or from the last treatment of the plant. Not from when the plant was purchased.
• Quarantine and standard operating procedures should be implemented to make a single room efficient.
• Drip trays/cachè potting containers must never be shared. All quarantine related water runoff must be retained with its own container/tray.
• Use dedicated tools or disinfect before using again. Cleaning and/or disinfecting your tools will help prevent spreading disease; Iowa State University Extension recommends to use 70% isopropyl alcohol as a disinfectant (wipe or dip) as well as 10% bleach solution (soak & rinse longer).
• Always wash your hands or use a new pair of gloves after handling any quarantined plants. When secured, Clemson University Extension has indicated that both your hands can be a vector and should always wash and/or have a routine set up for this procedure.
• Disinfect prior to cleaning off debris or sap. Disinfectants will work best only on clean surfaces (i.e. cleaning off debris prior to wiping down with alcohol or bleach will enhance cleaning and/or disinfectants ability).
• The last activity of the day should be considered long-term care of quarantined plant care (not returning to previous activities) so that no contaminants (pests) have moved into another zone (no transferring pests from quarantine, unless going back from one to another).

• Final inspection of the quarantined plant, with bright light. Check beneath leaves, leaf join sites, new growth, top of soil, bottom of drainage.
• If there is continued observation on the sticky card. Continue waiting to graduate and address the issue (usually moisture and/or Fungus Gnats), thus allowing for the proper amount of time for adult GNATs to cycle from one generation to the next. (ipm.ucanr.edu) You’ll want to quarantine a plant (preferably) close to your other houseplants but just outside of your eyesight. If possible, do not place the quarantined plant on the windowsill or next to it, as you will be unable to monitor it while it is quarantining. If you can’t place the quarantined plant within visual range of your clean plants, consider using a tote box or some type of barrier in between them.

Common Quarantine Mistakes & Quick Fixes

1. Mistaking an object in quarantine with an object on the sill: Separating the quarantined plant from other plants is just a matter of separating them with a physical barrier (plastic tote, curtain, separate stand).
2. Sharing watering can with quarantine & clean plants: Try to use only a small cup for your quarantined plants, or disinfect the watering can before each use (first clean the can, then disinfect with alcohol or bleach as required).
3. Not treating with an insecticidal soap solution made for your type of plant: Always use a labeled insecticidal soap and follow the label directions or you’ll risk damaging your plant. Dish soap can damage plants, and the amount of dish soap (DIY rate) varies widely.
4. Ending quarantine after seven days: We’ll want to keep the minimum amount of time, and use a minimum of two weeks, three to four weeks for any pest found only on newly developed and or immature tissue.
5. Only checking the top of the leaves for pests: The underside and joints of the leaves, as well as the new growth of plants are where we will find most of our pest activity.

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