Gooseberry Sawfly

July 12, 2010 by Linda
Filed under Pests & Diseases

gooseberry1 If you love to grow gooseberrys you will know the frustration of the gooseberry sawfly whose larvae can strip the leaves of gooseberry bushes.

I read an article recently about an organic solution to this pest; pick a bucket of foxglove leaves and pour over two pints of boiling water, leave for two days, strain and spray on gooseberry plants before any caterpillars appear.

So if you have foxgloves in your garden why not give it a try.

There are a couple of other non chemical controls:

Regularly check the plants from mid-April onwards for sawfly larvae and pick them off by hand.
A pathogenic nematode, sold as Nemasys Grow Your Own, can be watered onto infested plants. The nematodes enter the bodies of the sawfly larvae and infect them with a bacterial disease.

Chemical controls available include:

Insecticides are Provado Ultimate Bug Killer, Westland Plant Rescue Fruit & Vegetable Bug Killer
Organic pesticides such as Py Garden Insect Killer, Scotts Bug Clear Gun for Fruit & Veg, or Doff All in One Bug Spray
Spray when young larvae are seen, with an insecticide approved for use on gooseberryand red currant

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Blueberry Problems

July 6, 2009 by Linda
Filed under Q&A

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Question:
We have two blueberry bushes about 3 yrs old which we moved from pots into garden last year. They are in fruit but all the leaves have been eaten? On odd remaining ones there is what looks like a yellow mildew.Can you advise if fruit once ripened is fit to eat and also what the problem is.

Answer:
Blueberries are often pest and disease free, but can occasionally suffer from powdery mildew and vine weevil. Click on the links to find out more from the RHS Advice Centre. Here is also a link to find out more about blueberries in general.

It is also worth noting that they prefer an acid soil so it would be as well to test the soil around the planting area and if it is not acidic enough perhaps consider putting them back into their pots:

I would say that the fruits will be fine once they ripen but if you have sprayed the plant make sure you wash them well.

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Questions for December 2007

June 28, 2009 by Linda
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Question:

I recently bought two holly trees one was a standard ilex with plenty berries the other I was told was a female has well but has a couple of berries on it so I assume that must be female has well I have been told I need a male nearby has I have not seen any in my area I am a bit confused has there is so many on the market but basically my question is will any male holly do for the female has I have been told there is only a one in 50 chance of getting a female of the same family thanks for any advice

Answer:

You are correct that you require a male ilex to ensure berries on your female plants. One male can fertilise up to five females. Be careful when buying your male plant as some have names which sound female, e.g. Silver Queen.

Question:

I wonder if you could help me please. My umbrella plant has started losing leaves and I am worried I am doing something wrong. We live in Turkey and during the summer it was unusually hot and while we were in the UK I don’t think it was watered as well as it could have been. It lost quite a lot of leaves during this time and although it has had lots of TLC since I am worried it may still be suffering the effects of the heat. I have sprayed with leave shine I do not overwater and it stands in a south facing light spot in our lounge. Can you offer any suggestions please?

Answer:

The Umbrella Plant likes to be kept moist but does not like to sit in water so it could be that, as you say, it was either not watered or indeed overwatered. When a plant goes through trauma like this is does take a while for it to recover so I wouldn’t give up hope just yet. Here are some care instructions which may help. It likes bright but indirect light so as long as it is not near a window it should be OK in your lounge. It needs to be kept warm over the winter at a minimum of 60°F. Water well over the summer months and less over the winter. Place in a pebble tray or mist regularly to keep up humidity. Feed a liquid feed every month over the growing season. If it is still not looking good by summer you may want to consider cutting it down and seeing if it will re-grow from the base. There are no guarantees that this will help so use it as a last resort.

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Plant of the Month for May

May 2, 2009 by Linda
Filed under Plants in Our Garden

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Dicentra spectabilis or Bleeding Heart is one of the first plants to emerge in late spring and has arching sprays of dainty, rose-pink, heart-shaped flowers above fern-like, fresh green leaves.

It is extremely easy to grow and as long as the ground is moist it will thrive in full sun or partial shade and it looks great planted in groups towards the front of a shady border or as part of a cottage garden scheme.

Dicentras are happy in any good garden soil that is fertile but not too heavy. Enrich the soil with plenty of leaf mould before planting and apply a mulch in autumn too. A light fertilising in March will also help.

Clumps of dicentra remain compact for many years and do not need dividing however they have brittle roots and so do not like disturbance – instead, try taking root cuttings in spring.

BUY NOW!

Here are a selection of Dicentra from Crocus.co.uk – click here to find out more or to go shopping

Dicentra spectabilis	Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’	Dicentra ‘Bacchanal’	Dicentra formosa ‘Aurora’	Dicentra ‘King of Hearts’

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Rust on Roses

April 17, 2009 by Linda
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Question:

How can I prevent my rose bushes getting rust, also do I need to put a pot ash in soil, they are just starting to get the leaves, then during the summer they get what I think is rust and they fall off.

Answer:

Rose rust fungi can survive over the winter on fallen leaves or on the soil surface. They can also become attached to objects such as stakes, fences and rose stems.

Spray your plants and surrounding area with a fungicide now before the overwintering spores germinate, make sure you spray both sides of the leaves and the stems. Try one of the following: Scotts Fungus Clear, Systhane Fungus Fighter or Roseclear 3 (the last two also contains an insecticide if this is needed), you should be able to get them at your local garden centre. These sprays also help control powdery mildew and blackspot.

If you prefer not to use chemicals pick up and burn or otherwise dispose of fallen and infected leaves. Prune the plants to keep them as open as possible and allow air to circulate. Cut out and destroy any rust lesions on the stems, as well as old and weakened wood.

For best results use a combination of natural and chemical solutions.

Tags: answers, disease, fungus, gardening, infections, plants, question, rose, roseclear, roses, Rust, spray

Bifenthrin and Rotenone

March 3, 2009 by Linda
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Question:

In a fruiy growing book I ahve it talks about using Bifenthrin and Rotenone for attacking different types of insects and fungus on fruit bushes and trees but I cannot find it in UK do they come under a different name in UK?

Answer:

Bifenthrin can be found in Scotts Bug Clear Gun, Bayer Sprayday Greenfly Killer Plus and Doff All-In-One Garden Pest Killer.

However Rotenone, better known as derris, are to be withdrawn from sale for use by home gardeners. The timescale for withdrawal has not yet been announced, but it is likely that gardeners will have until September 2009 to use up their existing stocks of rotenone dusts and sprays. Products were withdrawn from retail sale in September 2008.

Tags: bayer, bifenthrin, dusts, fungus, garden chemicals, garden pest, greenfly, rotenone, scotts, spray