On 11/04/2013 22:36, The Greenman wrote:
hi there everybody, im sion(sean) Living & gardening in north
wales..Been hit with massive amounts of snow in last two weeks...Just
trying to my gardens straight, from snow damage...Caused an enormous
amount of damage everywhere..Check out pics of Mold in north wales if ya
can..if not il try to post um..anyhow..iv been in business for two yrs
now..sometimes think "what have i done !!"..But times when im proud of
what iv done make it all ok again. Any tips on that 'blasted' Camelia
Aphid, that secretes sooty-faeces..new growth comes through but its hard
to get rid of...soil born pest i think..just need forum like this to
reach out to a fellow tradesmen/natural born gardener.peace&goodsoil

The only way to deal with the "soot" (it's a fungus on the honeydew
secreted by aphids, scale insects, mealy bug, and other sap-suckers) is
to get rid of the pests which suck the sap. It doesn't do any harm in
itself, but is unsightly. On small plants you can paint them (scale
insect and mealy bug) with methylated spirit to kill them, but on
anything over a few feet high this is not really feasible - you will
need a systemic insecticide. Check out what's available in your nearest
garden centre. But don't forget that you will have to apply it several
times to make sure than anything hatching from eggs is dealt with. Keep
an eye out for any further infestations, and use the systemic
insecticide as soon as you see any sign of trouble.

As for trying to wash it off, don't bother. If you've got a really
small plant you can try washing and wiping each leaf with soapy water.
On a big plant nothing will do it. I tried a power washer (camellia
leaves can take it!), but even that wouldn't touch the really dried-on
stuff. Best to just wait for the leaves to fall off and get replaced
with new ones.

--

Jeff