Focus on flowers.
Most of us occasionally get little black flies that look a bit like fruit flies around our houseplants. They're fungus gnats and essentially harmless, mostly...
Last year, they killed all my coleus cuttings that I was rooting, so they can be a menace for seedlings and cuttings, as they can quickly get out of control.
They like dark and damp areas and compost in pots. They appear mostly during the winter and autumn on indoor plants and cuttings when the soil does not dry out as quickly and also when we over water.
If you see these little devils hovering over your plants, or even your sink, looking for water, stop watering immediately. Let the soil dry out and move the plants to somewhere like a windowsill where there's light and warmth. Though, don't let the leaves of sensitive plants get scorched by leaving the plants in strong light for too long. Just let the soil dry out.
Also, clean up the surface soil in your pots by removing leaves and other debris that can rot. Hang some sticky tape like fly paper near to the plants so the little gnats get stuck. It takes a bit of effort, but the pesky little gnats will soon leave your houseplants, even those that flower, alone and you'll be rid of all those little devils.
This is Moya Andrews, and today we focused on houseplant gnats.
