On Tue, 05 Nov 2002 00:11:42 +0000, Hussein M.
wrote:

.... just adding something having browsed Bob Flowerdews impossible
tome (impossible because the info is so scattered).

What I wrote below is fairly o.k. (except of course black fly are
themselves aphids).

Other plants as aphid deterrents:

Chervil, Coriander, Dill, Anise

Mint (especially pulegium or "Pennyroyal" which has been known as a
deterrent since time immemorial). Mint also discourages the ants which
farm certain species of aphid).

Hosts for beneficial predators (hoverflies etc.):

Wild or German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) sometimes known as
''scented mayweed" but the commoner Chamaemelum (syn. Anthemis)
nobile is probably just as good.

Limanthes (poached egg plant). Dear Bob recommends planting it
everywhere!

Sacrificial plants are a bit of a problem unless you know which
aphid is the cause of the infestation.

Hope this helps a little.

My choice - do it with plants rather than chemicals.

Your call - do you want your insecticide to arrive on the buzz of
lively wings or the deathly silence of thisamine thatsate?

Oh yes, if you plant Artemisia close by, the ''Southernwood"
abrogatum (I find the smell quite bracing) rather than the more foul
"Wormwood" absinthum. Tarragon is an Artemisia as well. Loads of
garlic though some of the prettier alliums may serve just as well.
PFAF database here I come.

I myself have a newly bought Prunus to protect and my roses have
proved to be a little prone (chemically over fertilised by the prat I
used to be).

Grow a lively garden.

Hussein

Have you thought of giving it some "companions"? I believe there are
various companions which deter aphids. I don't think it's just the
plants themselves but the organic compounds they put in the soil and
then get taken up by the plant to be protected - thereby making it
less appetising to the blighters.

I believe garlic is a good companion for this purpose so I suggest
an under planting of this - not the bulbs from supermarket shelves
(Mediterranean) - but a hardier variety (sativum?). I believe other
pungent plants such as Artemisia and Chamomile have a similar effect.

Then, as the cream topping, plant a clump of a sacrificial
herbaceous plant nearby which will attract on to it the aphids.
Different aphids for different plants however. Are there any other
plants in your garden which sometimes get the very same aphids (look
at them with a magnifying glass). If push comes to shove, try a clump
of nasturtiums but with these the aphids will probably be vying for
the meal with black fly.

Once everything is back in balance you should have a colony of
predators such as hover fly, lacewings and guzzling ladybirds which
will dine, thrive and multiply on the bugs they find on the
sacrificial plant and pick off any that stray onto the Prunus. You
never said which variety - some are more susceptible than others.

It's worth a try to work with nature rather than against it.

Grow a little garden.

Hussein