Do you have a gardening ritual or routine that, if you're not able to do it ends up bothering you, niggling at you until the day that you're finally able to do it?
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| Potted plants are the ones most vulnerable |
I'm not usually a worry wart. After all, it's the new year and all worries should have been left away with the passing of the old year. Good way of thinking but it's more applicable in theory than in practice!
We have a ritual that we weren't able to do last autumn as, you've guessed it right, we were crazy busy and it's a ritual we haven't skipped until recently. That ritual is drenching our garden and most importantly potted plants with anti vine weevil nematodes. I've written about this biological pest control before and it's something we religiously do in the spring and autumn but that ritual was just broken.
Since then and now that things are a bit calmer I have been worrying a little yet often enough, thinking that there may be grubs in some of those pots, slowly gnawing away on roots and potentially giving us nasty surprises in the spring. Hopefully that won't be the case!
If the weather continues to be mild I will drench the pots in the greenhouse with chemical control soon (biological control is temperature dependent), in case there are larvae there that are currently active as it's extra warm in there (they don't go dormant if it's warm enough). That should give us some peace of mind!
But as soon as it warms up in the spring, warm enough for the nematodes to be effective we'll be out there drenching away. Any larvae that may be present in the soil or in the pots will hopefully be killed and controlled early enough before they do any significant damage.
Plants are like pets aren't they? If you like them you also end up worrying about them!
Mark :-)
This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends.
Worry about them - and become despondent if they're overcome by troublesome pests, yes. Hopefully, your prior inoculations will allow them to get through this one oversight, which is certainly understandable given all the pressures you were under.
ReplyDeleteWe hope so Kris, just need to make sure we don't forget doing the spring treatment too, top of the spring to do list now.
DeleteHere's hoping your plants are fine. I bet they are. I get antsy sometimes if I know the weeds are taking over, but I haven't been out weeding in a while. Gotta get out there soon.
ReplyDeleteHope your backs feeling a lot better soon Alison, and well enough to do lots of weeding in comfort :)
DeleteWorry, who me? Oh yes of course, more than I would care to admit. Now I fear I've asked this before and I don't mean to be a pest (!) but you guys are the only ones I've ever heard worry about the vine weevil. As you know I've got a few potted plants, perhaps my ignorance is going to cost me someday. Do you think this is a world wide problem or only something in your neck of the woods? Have you ever experienced a plant death due to the evil weevil?
ReplyDeleteIm not sure Loree, about its distribution and I hope it's nowhere to be found in your neck of the woods. I've seen an adult or two last year, a lot less already than before but you can see in some plants that the adults have nibbled on them. It seems they are selective too where they lay their eggs but you can never be too sure. Echeverias, heucheras, and some conifers seems to be their favourite.
DeleteI don't have rituals or 'must dos' but I get specially irritated if people leave potting compost sacks open so rain gets in and turns the contents into plastic coated mire.
ReplyDeleteThat is irritating indeed, takes areas to dry out and you're stuck with mud for awhile!
DeleteI don't do it at all and probably should. You guys are so dedicated to things like that but it's understandable with all you had going on this year that it might have slipped by you. You'll play lots of catch up now but you'll get everything done.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
Thanks Cher and we hope so!
DeleteWishing you pest free plants!
ReplyDeleteAnd you too Peter!
DeleteHi Mark, I was glad to read that in general you guys are using biological pest controls instead of chemical ones. But to answer your question, each year exactly at this time I prune and fertilize my roses. Last year I wasn't finished with the pruning and fertilizing before they were completely leaved out already. For the pruning it is too late then to be continued, even though, of course, I can still continue to fertilize. It really bugged me, since an unpruned and unfertilized rose will not achieve it full beauty and produce optimal flowers. The same could happen this year, again. Looks like I have too many roses and too little time by now :-(.
ReplyDeleteChristina
Time is such a precious premium isn't it Christina? And we're finding the same here, free time is getting shorter and shorter. hopefully your roses will still do well and reward you with lots of bloom despite the skip in some of its usual maintenance.
DeleteI worry, sure...but it rarely results in action. You guys are such good role models.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ricki, and so are you!
Deletehi Mark and Gaz
ReplyDeleteOld age is a good remedy for worry. The vine weevil control you talk of is excellent. The packs generally say its for pot grown plants. However our Rhododendrons were being destroyed with the adult weevils, I treated the beds and the result was excellent.
Thanks Alistair! Nematodes are great and very efficient, if not the only option to treat the open ground.
DeleteMy biggest problem is mealy bugs! I have to be on constant alert for them. And hope you get rid of your bugs. Yikes, that really sucks. No pun intended!
ReplyDelete