Saturday, May 17, 2008

Gardening advice GQT

In last Wednesday's Gardeners Question Time the following advice was given to gardeners.

Plants suitable for planting into a slope or a bank:
  • Mint - will spread rapidly & is late flowering (little pink flowers in middle of summer). More about the mint plant
  • Cotoneaster - excellent ground cover + roots stabilise the soil
Autumn & spring are the two periods when vine weevil grubs are most active. It is the grubs which do the most damage by eating the plant roots. If growing seedlings in trays or pots ontop of a metal or wooden bench you could put the bench legs into containers of water so that the adult vine weevils will not be able to climb up onto the plants. The adult weevils cannot swim. 

Please note that there are many different type of weevil which attack various plants in the garden. Vigilance is the key to controlling this pest. The presence of the adult weevils is shown by semi-circular notches eaten into the edges of leaves, most notably on evergreen shrubs like Rhododendron, Euonymus, Azalea and Camellia. This damage by the adults is not fatal, just unsightly (although is a good indicator that there will be eggs, and larvae hatching in the autumn).

The real damage is done by the larvae which feed on the roots, often killing the plant, especially potted and young plants. The first sign of the presence of the larvae is usually yellowing leaves, poor growth and a wilting plant which does not respond to watering. Unfortunately it is often too late to save the plant. Rescue is possible if the damage is not too extensive, wash off all the compost to remove the grubs and remaining eggs, then replant in fresh growing medium. Some plants are more at risk from attack than others, eg. Sedums, Primulas, Fuchsias and Impatiens, but most plants in pots are at risk. So be a vigilant gardener!

Labels: , , , ,

posted by Thomas @ 1:39 am

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home