summer time bug and disease control

Just saw 3 JP beetles today, although they were not on the roses.

One of the peony leaves has got powdery mildew. Must spray peonies and dogwoods tomorrow.

Oh those owls are CUTE

I've found a couple Jap Beetles here and there.

We've been seeing Fig Beetles. THey seem to love my Peanut Butter Shrub. THat's ok if it keeps them of the figs. PB Shrub is such a vigorous grower they can't possibly do real harm.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/96/

We ate outside on the patio last night, and both my DD and DH said they were picking JBs off of me as we ate, but I never saw them...

Our best beetle control is probably our pool. I get at least a quarter of a cup of dead "good" beetles from it a day. The moles are active in the neighboring property but mysteriously stop near the property line. I guess the BT treatment must be working. :-}

I just saw the first sign of powdery mildew. Once it starts I can't seem to control it at all. I know Neem is supposed to be helpful but you can't use it in this heat.

Spider mites are on the rise here- that pink brug seems especially prone. I mixed up some water, alcohol and few drops of Joy soap and sprayed under all the leaves tonight.
My phlox has some significant powdery mildew already.

I saw my first JB on one of my Echinacea yesterday. Sadly it was on the same bloom as a big fat happy bee, but I wasn't about to leave that beetle there, so ever so carefully I took aim to flick JUST the beetle from the bloom.... and missed! FLICKED the entire bloom hard, and both occupants went flying.. that bee was seriously upset with me and came straight for my head! Haahahahaa!! I'm sorry little bee!!!!

I finally pruned back the jungle of Daisies yesterday and found in the soil SWARMS of ants... teeny little guys with a few queens mixed in. Can anyone tell me what would be so attractive to them there? They are only in the areas where I have the Daisies, not farther up the bed where the Echinacea and Dianthus and other random stuff like Blue Flax and Cosmos are. Why do they want to swarm the Daisy area so heavily?

Maybe because the base of a "jungle of Daisies' is so old and compacted that there are
plenty of nooks and crannies for the ants to come and go.

When i find an ant condo somewhere--I just grab any spray can for ants or hornets and
spray down the whole area.
More then once--I have found ants setting up housekeeping in the bottom of my HB's.
I no longer hang them from a tree because of this.
Another time, there was a thriving metropolis of ants in a rotting, wood top I had
put on a small, rusted out metal table. The wood top was the top of one of those giant spools
you see at HD that has the heavy duty electric cables on it. The bottom rotted out--
but the top was still good, so I put it in this little, metal table.
Sometimes--if I catch one empty--I take it home, paint it and use it as a small patio table.
Nice to put plants and pots on. But--they do rot out.

So--I am assuming ants love decaying, tight places of woody material.
Like a zillion dead stems of a daisy patch. All those dead stems from years ago---perfect!
I have also seen ant colonies under big rocks...
G.

ew. I get ant-opolisses in stacks of empty pots. Or earwigs. We have zillions of both. Extra earwigs this year.

I have plenty of ants, too.

They are most bothersome in my vehicles! I guess they feed on whatever nectar or drippings come from the trees overhead? Have used liquid Terro in the door and frame cracks before. but this year the 'incoming' supply of ants seems truly endless. Help.

As of yesterday powdery mildew is greatly reduced as I really wacked back overgrowth around yard to increase air flow. (Turned on euonomous shrub into a tree!) Also, less plants since parting them out.

Any one else plagued by Flatid leafhopers/planthopers?

Have you ever tried those home remedies like peppermint or cinnamon to keep ants out? I hear that works but never tried it myself. Terro works for me.
Sally, I'd love to know how to banish the earwigs.... They have taken over my kids' sandbox. :(

I've tried a baking soda + drop of dish soap in solution to rid powdery mildew in a greenhouse population and it seemed to severely reduce the problem. Of course, the spray was in combination with removing symptomatic leaves. I don't remember the exact ratio, but it was probably something like 1 tbs baking soda, drop of dish soap, gallon of water, every few days while symptoms persist.

I don't have much PM in my yard, just botrytis or phytophthora on my peonies.... Speaking if which, if I move my peony this fall after the foliage dies back, and wash the dirt off well, am I likely to move the fungus as well? Can I disinfect the roots with bleach? The problem is that I want to move the plant that's infected near a plant that doesn't seem to have any problems this year.

Karen--

Hope my memory is correct on this, but I once had the phytophthora Fungus (?)
on my Rhodo (all the leaves on it wilted--but stayed green). Just hanging down...

I sought help and was told it was the phyt. wilt and that it is a disease that goes (or starts)in
the roots and soil of the plant.
I was told to dig up the Rhodo (my Nova Zembia) and get rid of it--lock, stock, and barrel.
Also--to dig out the soil in the root-area and discard that as well.
Besides--advice that I should NEVER plant another Rhodo in that area.

And--that is when I, eventually, planted my "Bob Hope Camellia" in its place.
That had to be in 2001 or 2002.

Is the Phytophthora in your Peony the same as I had with my Rhodo? I do not know...
The name rang a bell.
Gita

Was looking for this link in my bookmarks last night. Could not find it.
Today--it was right there--in front of my eyes!
Hope some of this information helps you all. Now--I need to read it myself--again..

http://www.bugspray.com/articles/main.html#earwig

Gita

Gita, camellias can host phytophthoras too, so keep an eye on the one you have. I have a little baby rhodo that I'm paranoid might have it. I want to think that my peony just has botritis b/c it comes back beautifully ever year but never has more than 3 flowers, which I've always attributed to too much shade. I guess I had better keep it away from my other peony just to be safe, though. :(

There's like a billion phytophthoras. Some are innocuous. P. ramorum is kind of a big deal, though.

Karen--
Several years ago-my Camellia started getting blotchy/yellowish leaves
which, sort of, developed during the winter, and ONLY on the previous
years growth (now woody), not on last season's growth.

In spring--after the blooming--these affected leaves would slowly fall off.
When this was happening for the 3rd spring again, I sought help from Mike Quinn in GA.
He had always been my go-to Guy when it comes to Camellias.
He thought it was some kind of a Fungus. The blooms also seemed to be affected.

He told me to cut the whole shrub back--down to about 12". EGADS!!! MY Camellia????

I would cut back as much as I dared--send him a picture--and he'd say "MORE!"..
So, with great trepidation I cut more and he was finally satisfied with my hack-job.
I was worried it would not grow back--but it did, and in a couple years, it was almost 5' tall again.

I have not seen much of the leaf-yellowing since--but this past year--there have been some. Not much.
I am picking all the affected leaves off as I see them.

This spring it bloomed beautifully and the new growth has been lush green.
Some of the yellowing leaves still crop up here and there--but overall--it is OK.

Here will be some pictures of the sick leaves--(2009) the hack job--and the re-growing bush.
And also how it looks today--all green.
Some of the bare-stemmed look is mostly because all the leaves, from the previous year-
had fallen off, as I said above.

1--This is in April of 2010. The shrub is straggly and the blooms are small---not the usual.
2--June, 2010. My Camellia totally cut back.
3--April, 2011 Camellia re-growing nicely. A bit lanky--I did not like that..
4--April 2012--well on its way to full size again
5--How my Camellia looks today--July 8, 20113

I still don't like the stringy top growth branches. But I accept, that once you cut something back,
there is, usually, a surge of growth.
I want to cut the tops back to where the shrub has a bit more 'rounded" look.

May be good for trying to root these--IF anyone knows how. I know it is NOT easy.

It bloomed nicely this spring. Almost like old times...

Just worried that still some of these blotchy leaves were here and there on the shrub.
The all have now fallen off--I have raked them up and disposed of them.

I sure hope the "crud" is not coming back!!!!
Thanks for considering all this, Karen. See? i AM picking your brain....
You can always come bu and see it in person.....Hint!
Gita

**Note:
--First 3 pictures are from may of this year.
--Pictures #4 and #5 are from 2005--when she was younger and cranking out amazing blooms.

eww sorry about those nasty earwigs in the sandbox!
With all the rain they are turning up everywhere. Is it a wooden sandbox?
I think they need some moisture so I'd keep things as dry as possible in that area. and eliminate any cracks.
Ew- once I took a kids outdoor toy to a neighbor's house for a play date and a couple earwigs fell out. So embarrassing.

Gita, I'll talk to a friend and see what he says. I don't have any idea what it is, sorry. Or if it is a Phytophthora, I don't know what to tell you to do about it. I can see why you'd want to protect it. It's a beautiful flower! I know, I know. I've got to come by soon.

Sally, It's a plastic sandbox with a fairly tight-fitting lid, but it's no use. The earwigs won....

about earwigs
http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/diaglab/hilites/a3640.pdf
but I understand you may not want to use chemicals where kids play.

Diatomaceous earth should be safe for the sandbox, and should also kill earwigs... or any other pesky critters with .. exo(?)skeletons. Hmmm... come to think of it, I should bring some home for that ant problem! Ah-HA!!

Be careful using diatomaceous earth when kids are around...the fine dust can be harmful to one's lungs.

Gita, my friend said it doesn't really look like a phytophthora. So that's good news. If you had a different fungal disease before, you may be okay now that you cut everything back. If the whole plant starts declining, then it may be a root rot caused by phytophthora.
Based on my super-amature google investigation, it's probably just natural leaf shedding since b/c it's only the old leaves with symptoms. Viruses reside in the places where the plant is actively growing so you'd probably see symptoms in the new growth first.
The buds being affected may be botrytis, which is not related to the symptoms on the leaves as botrytis resides only on the buds. You can spray a fungicide for it but the fungus can become resistant in time.
But as always, prevention is the best medicine: fertilize appropriately and clean up fallen leaves.
I really liked this site as a reference:
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=327

This has been a fun exercise! Well, google got a workout, anyway! ;)

This message was edited Jul 9, 2013 8:54 AM

Karen--
Thank you for your time to look all this up. I read the whole thing in the link.
I am relieved that it is NOT the P-Fungus! Just wondering WHY the leaves look like
they are all "fungusy"?

From reading the link, here are some observations.

1--Location. It is a perfect location. The camellia is nestled between an old Hemlock
(on the NW side-where all the winds come from) and an old Yew on the East side.
It is right next to my front steps and a good 2'+ away from the house wall.
It gets bright shade with barely a slight big of early AM sun.

2--Watering--I usually water the small plants in front of the Camellia. Right now--2 Hostas.
In the past--my gutter always dripped down and it is possible that the Shrub got too much water
if it was a rainy season. This has been fixed by having my gutters re-routed. Other reasons too.

3--Fertilizing--I am VERY lax about fertilizing anything. So--I could have been better about
feeding this shrub. I have a bag of Al. Sulphate which I have never used.I have dumped coffee grounds
around it....and some Holly Tone in the fall. But--as i said--very negligently.

4--Mulching--a few years ago--I went and raked up some pine needles from a huge pine
on the grounds of the Middle School just up the road. They have now been raked away.
I have bags of leaf mold (Maple)--as I suck and shred them and fill black, plastic bags with them and
put them under some bushes to "cook"...Usually, in 2 years--they are a nice. black mold.
Will spread this around the camellia in the fall.

Paul (Terp) will be dropping by Saturday around 11:30AM to 12 noon on his way to NJ.
I am so close to I-95 that it is less than a 2 mile detour to stop at my house.
He wants to see my garden, and I will get to meet his GF. he also needs to pick something up.
IF you want to swing by at those times too--you can meet me AND Paul.

Would love to see you--you can hang around--but Paul has to leave by 12:30.

Thank again for your research help. Gita

Some of the helianthus leaves were covered with caterpillars last Saturday. I cut them off, but saw more on Sunday. Yuk! I am not sure what they were.

Does anybody know the best time to spray for powdery mildew? It doesn't look like we are going to get a cloudy day any time soon. I sprayed the brugs and a big viburnum in the middle of the hot summer last year, and burned all the leaves off :-(.



This message was edited Jul 11, 2013 2:41 PM

Could you tell if there was secondary color on those cats or were they all black?

Hmmmm, I wonder if those are baby cats, and if so, what they might grow up to be? Any chance you could transfer them to another plant that you care a bit less about? ;) (no, really!!)

I dunno about where you are, but around here, yesterday would have been the PERFECT time to do your spraying: calm/nearly no air moving, and totally cloudy. If it was like that around your place, I hope you were able to take advantage of it.

From what I understand about DE, when the diatoms are exposed to high heat, they can then become the "crystalline silica", which is/can be harmful if inhaled in large amounts over long periods of time (like, for those who work with the stuff), but the stuff that's sold as an insecticide is not exposed to high heat, it's simply milled or ground, so the content of "crystalline silica" is ... Yipes, I got cut off!!
... what was I saying? Ummm... I think I was saying that the content of the crystalline silica is minimal, like less than 1%... so unless one is sticking her head in the bag and snorting, it should be ok. ;)

This message was edited Jul 11, 2013 9:47 AM

FJ, yes. They were solid black, no marks. I saw a large number of them both Saturday and Sunday. More might have hatched by now, but I am not home during the week. Will see how many and how big they are when I get home tomorrow :-(

Speedie, thanks for the info. Would it be ok if it spray the plants in the evening? W.R.T. transferring baby cats to another plant, no can do, hahaha! Not that I cannot sacrifice another plant. They just totally grossed me out and I definitely don't want to experiment with them any further. LOL.

Donner
Helianthus plants are hosts to the following butterfly larvae:
American Lady, Giant Swallowtail, Painted Lady, Silvery Checkerspot, Spicebush Swallowtail, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Sachem, Bordered Patch, and more!

Hope yours will have grown enough to ID so you can tell the good bugs from the 'bad' ones. They do not look like Gypsy Moth cats. I'm thinking they are probably desireables. Plus they are good food for all our insect eating birds!

Ooops, my post above got cut off, I had to edit it. As long as the air is calm and it's not directly sunny this evening (and not actively raining, or expected to rain about 24-36 hours after you spray), this evening should be fine for you.

Forgive me, but, what's "W.R.T."? Wait Right There? ;) heeheeheee

they closely resemble this
http://www.buglifecycle.com/?p=218

Yikes!!! Did I just throw butterfly cats onto the compost pile ;o( ? Hope the ones that hatched after Sunday have survived my heavy hands. They might be pretty big by now. I will see them when I get home tomorrow.

Good point about insect eating birds, Judy. I think I will leave caterpillars alone from now on -- whatever they might turn into.

As a gardener, I ought not to be freaked out by crawlies :o(

I'm wondering where all of my Japanese beetles went. The beetles I spotted a couple of weeks ago turned out to be just plain brown beetles. I did apply milky spores last fall, but I thought it took a couple of years before you could see the results. It would be great if the milky spores actually worked and I no longer had JB grubs in my yard. :) I thought my neighbors' JBs would still visit my roses and crape myrtle like they did last year, but there's still no sign of them yet. Not that I'm complaining!

Has anyone in the MidAt experienced Hosta Virus X? I think my Gold Standard might be showing some signs. When I googled it, I learned that Gold Standard happens to be highly susceptible to HVX. :(

Coleup and I were talking about this the other day in the "Neck of the Woods 2" thread:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=9587428

My next door neighbor's hosta is totally washed out with the inkbleed symptom.

Sorry about your Gold Standard :(

SSG, do you have a photo of the Gold Standard hosta with virus? I have a hosta that has golden foliage but I do not know its variety name because I bought it a long time ago. The weird thing is that it has very "wrinkly" "bumpy" leaves - guess that's the best way to describe it. I first noticed the problem last year, and it is the same this year. The plant looks healthy otherwise. The leaves are not yellowing and do not have brown tips/edges/spots. There are other hostas of different varieties right next to this one, but they do not have the same problem.

Thank you for the warning about Hosta HVX virus, ty. I must go check mine out.

Cheryl_103: Thanks for chiming in about DE. I have heard some reports that it presents a breathing hazard -- and other reports that it does not.

aagggh the spider mites on the pink brug. I finally bought some Bayer systemic granules, came home to find so many leaves falling off the brug I don't even want to bother.

donner, those Cecropia moths Jen linked feed mostly on maple and a few other trees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyalophora_cecropia

Oh I thought I'd seen a post here about HVX! Here are the pics