heucheras, cyclamen, sedum and young yew – and it is generally plants in pots which suffer most damage.
“Vine weevil is there in people’s gardens in the open ground, but usually there are enough natural enemies to keep it in check,” he says.The adults feed on thick-leaved evergreen shrubs like rhododendron, eating the outside of leaves.
Solution: By June the damage has been done and there’s little you can do. However, nematodes (tiny microscopic worms that attack, invade and kill target species) offer biological control to eliminate the grubs.Apply a nematode solution to your pots in late summer/early autumn, which should solve the problem, he suggests.
Photo: adult vine weevil
Aphids
There are more than 500 species of aphid in the UK, including greenfly and blackfly, and their population expands rapidly.You’ll see them on the stems of many plants up to the flowers, sometimes resulting in the plant’s loss of vigour. “They breed faster than their natural enemies can catch up with them,” Salisbury explains.“There’s an endless list of enemies – many different species of wasps, beetles and ladybirds, lacewing and hoverfly larvae all eat them, as well as bluetits. “They tend to breed and get into high numbers in early spring. If you get through spring, by the time you get to mid-June and July, then those natural enemies really do their job and can wipe out aphids.”
Photo: aphids on a rose bud
Solution:As soon as you see them, put on a pair of gardening gloves and remove them with your fingers, running them up the stem.
Carrot root fly
It looks like a housefly but it’s the larvae – yellow-white maggots – which do the damage, burrowing into the carrot and leaving it inedible. It also feeds on related vegetables including parsnips, celery and celeriac.
There are two generations a year (spring and autumn) and the carrot fly is attracted to the smell of the leaves of the plant.
Solution:“Grow your carrots under insect-proof mesh,” Salisbury advises. Choose varieties which are less susceptible to carrot fly, like ‘Fly Away’, ‘Maestro’,‘Resistafly’ and ‘Sytan’.You could also companion plant pungent crops such as onion and garlic between rows, to put them off the scent. And grow them in raised beds, as it is said that the fly can’t fly very high.
Photo: carrot root fly on a carrot
58 | mccarthyholden.co.uk
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online