Geranium, penstemons and petunias sometimes become infested by budworms. Foliage may be chewed, flowers may open tattered and full of holes or appear dried up and not open at all. Tiny black droppings on the foliage are left behind. The striped caterpillar larval form of a native moth is a close relative of the corn ear worm, the tobacco or geranium budworm. Moths lay eggs singly on host plants. After hatching, the caterpillars chew fully opened flowers and occasionally dine on the leaves. Spraying early on with organic BT is effective if done before the worms burrow inside the flower buds. Remove dried up buds and flowers that may harbor the caterpillars and pull up and destroy ragged, end-of-season petunias that my have eggs sticking to the plant remains. There may be two generations per year so preventative spraying with BT may protect established plants of geraniums or penstemon.
If your fuchsias aren’t blooming and the leaf tips look curled up and deformed, your plants are infested with fuchsia gall mite. First discovered on the West Coast in 1980, it is often mistaken for a disease because of the way it distorts and twists fuchsia leaves and flower buds. The damage caused can be debilitating. The leaves curl and distort so much that normal photosynthesis is disrupted and weakened plants fail to bloom Infested plants usually recover if further mite damage is controlled. Prune off all distorted foliage and buds. This may be the best method of control as petroleum oil or insecticidal sprays need to be made every 4-7 days to disrupt the mite life cycle. Neem oil is not recommended for use on fuchsia flowers.
There are several gall mite-resistant fuchsias, both hanging and upright, that are very bit as showy as the traditional fuchsia varieties. if you have been plagued by fuchsia mites, try growing one of these instead.
Blazing hot weather one day, foggy the next – our summer is turning out to be a particularly hot one. The last two winters saw more than the usual freezing weather. If weather tells us what clothes to wear, then climate tells us what clothes to buy. Is all this proof of climate change?
Our planet has always experienced heating and cooling cycles. A warm period from 300-1300 AD allowed the Vikings to fish and farm Greenland. They were frozen out after 1300 when the Little Ice Age changed Greenland’s climate. A 20 year drought starting in 1276 probably drove out the cliff dwellers in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico and the Mayan culture collapsed about the same time as an extended drought occurred in Mexico and Central America.
People who cultivate plants have always taken climate change more seriously than most. Many tomatoes stop setting fruit when daytime temps stay above 90 degrees. Higher levels of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, have been accelerating weed growth. Our best defense as gardeners is to choose wisely what we plant in the garden and how we water.
- Start with smart design by evaluating how the space will be used and what plants will thrive with minimum of care and pruning. Select the best trees and place them to shade the south side of the house to reduce cooling costs.
- Supplement the soil by making soil health a priority.
- Examine your irrigation system and watering plan for efficiency and minimal waste.
- Reduce, recycle and reuse whenever possible. Simple ways include reusing plant containers and composting organic waste and fall leaves.
We can all become stewards of the land by using these sustainable landscaping tips.
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