This has been a wonderful growing season.....for aphids!!! I generally expect a battle with the Summer Wine Ninebark, sometimes the roses, and occasionally on the Mock Orange. This year, though, I have seen blue/green ones on the tomato plants, black aphids on the ninebark and mock orange, green on the rose bush (only a few) and several in my hair or on my clothes when I come in from working in the garden. What to do?
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| Summer Wine Ninebark late spring before I washed off the black aphids you see clustered here on the new growth. |
A sharp blast from the hose is what I most often do for control. Spraying every square inch and centimetre of the plant, I wash those nasty little suckers off where they can become bait for other predatorial bugs. I also encourage (carry) the lady bugs to the affected regions. You can buy them at a few of the local garden centres, just in case you don't have enough in your garden.
If your petunias are suffering from a recent infestation now, though, the best advice is to pull them out and discard the plants. Replace them with annual mums or something else that will continue blooming while the evenings lose their warmth and the daylight hours begin to dwindle. Days here have been a bit cooler so it is the perfect time to add some mums for a splash of colour now.
For more information on aphid control, see this article written by Rob Sproule of Salisbury Greenhouse:
Enjoy those sun shiny days while you can. I hear whispers of an early autumn. Are you turning a deaf ear or a blind eye? I am.......
6 comments:
Hi Shirley... You asked about pruning to topiary on a white pine... on pines shaping is done through removal of a portion of this year's new growth which is known as candling. The following web site has several links regarding the process. http://www.rothteien.com/landing/pruning/pruningpines.htm
Basically you can remove a goodly portion of the new growth prior to its opening out, which will allow you to shape and size the tree over many years. Hand pinching is really the best, but I have sheared these candles in the past as well. Once you've begun your process of shaping, you will need to continue to this yearly.
I'm noticing some recent problem on my zinnias with the leaves getting blotchy... I'll have to check it out more carefully to be sure it isn't aphids! Larry
Much easier than all that hard work trying to get rid of them is to underplant with any member of the onion family. The smell confuses them so they do not breed.
I read somewhere that to kill aphids mix 1 part cooking oil to 2 parts water, and add a dash of dish soap; put mixture in spray bottle. Good luck!
OMG! Are aphids bad this year! They seem to be everywhere here too. I used to blast them with the hose, but now being on a very tight budget I have to conserve and keep the water for the plants themselves. They are mopstly on annulas, so I figure if I leave the plants for a little while longer before pulling them up that my perennials will be spared.
Fingers crossed anyway.
Have agreat weekend!
*hugs*deb
Thanks for the advice Rosie, Arija and Larry. I'll have to try the onions around them to see if it makes a difference.
I'll start with the pruning next year the on the pine. Thanks Larry.
Rosie, if the onions don't work, I'm trying your mix!
I am trying to turn a deaf ear..but Mother Nature keeps talking louder...
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