Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Drat - Vine Weevils!
Despite the rain, I went out to do a little job in the garden. Instead of
doing that job, I saw a very sad plant which needed some attention. The plant was a once *beautiful* yellow Primula bulleyana which I'd bought on holiday. It was magnificent! That same plant appeared collapsed and, when I investigated, there were about 50 vine weevil larvae in the crown and rootball of the plant. There is almost nothing left, and I doubt that that 'almost nothing' will survive. I will see what can be done, but it's not hopeful. Boo hoo :~(( The birds are very happy though. They got an unexpected feast of plump wriggly things .... I just got soaked to the skin, chilled through and fed up for .. yup, bird food! :~( I squelched my way indoors and hubby said "Did you get very wet, dear?" Grrr!! It's just as well he made me a nice cup of tea :~). Spider |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Drat - Vine Weevils!
In article , Spider
writes Despite the rain, I went out to do a little job in the garden. Instead of doing that job, I saw a very sad plant which needed some attention. The plant was a once *beautiful* yellow Primula bulleyana which I'd bought on holiday. It was magnificent! That same plant appeared collapsed and, when I investigated, there were about 50 vine weevil larvae in the crown and rootball of the plant. There is almost nothing left, and I doubt that that 'almost nothing' will survive. I will see what can be done, but it's not hopeful. Boo hoo :~(( The birds are very happy though. They got an unexpected feast of plump wriggly things .... I just got soaked to the skin, chilled through and fed up for .. yup, bird food! :~( I squelched my way indoors and hubby said "Did you get very wet, dear?" Grrr!! It's just as well he made me a nice cup of tea :~). I had the same problem with my Kiwi in the Spring. It was in a big pot and I wanted to plant it against the house wall. Prepared the hole well and took kiwi out of the pot - to find it crawling with horrible fat things. I spent a long time sifting them out to start with, but the main rootball was quite tangled and I kept finding more - so in the end, I took the hose to it and washed everything off - soil and weevils. I didn't expect it to survive in the ground - but it has put on good growth and plenty of foliage this year, so hopefully I got to it before too much damage was done... Not surprisingly there was no fruit - but then again it has never fruited yet (Not sure how old it is - I've probably had it 3 years now, so probably 4 or 5). A propos nothing - we did have a fantastic crop of blueberries this year -- regards andyw |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Drat - Vine Weevils!
"newsb" wrote in message news In article , Spider writes Despite the rain, I went out to do a little job in the garden. Instead of doing that job, I saw a very sad plant which needed some attention. The plant was a once *beautiful* yellow Primula bulleyana which I'd bought on holiday. It was magnificent! That same plant appeared collapsed and, when I investigated, there were about 50 vine weevil larvae in the crown and rootball of the plant. There is almost nothing left, and I doubt that that 'almost nothing' will survive. I will see what can be done, but it's not hopeful. Boo hoo :~(( The birds are very happy though. They got an unexpected feast of plump wriggly things .... I just got soaked to the skin, chilled through and fed up for .. yup, bird food! :~( I squelched my way indoors and hubby said "Did you get very wet, dear?" Grrr!! It's just as well he made me a nice cup of tea :~). I had the same problem with my Kiwi in the Spring. It was in a big pot and I wanted to plant it against the house wall. Prepared the hole well and took kiwi out of the pot - to find it crawling with horrible fat things. I spent a long time sifting them out to start with, but the main rootball was quite tangled and I kept finding more - so in the end, I took the hose to it and washed everything off - soil and weevils. I didn't expect it to survive in the ground - but it has put on good growth and plenty of foliage this year, so hopefully I got to it before too much damage was done... Not surprisingly there was no fruit - but then again it has never fruited yet (Not sure how old it is - I've probably had it 3 years now, so probably 4 or 5). A propos nothing - we did have a fantastic crop of blueberries this year -- regards andyw It sounds as if you were lucky. If it's put on that much growth, the roots must be okay. I'm not sure how long you have to wait for fruit on Kiwi, but the pertinent question is 'do you get flowers?' If you don't, you certainly won't get fruit. I'm assuming here that you've got one of the self-fertile clones? Kiwi, generally, need a male and female plant for fruit production. If you haven't got a self-fertile one (such as 'Jenny'), then you will need a partner for your plant. Another thought is that all is well .. you get flowers and fruit set .. but that the embryo fruitlets drop because they're not getting enough water. Many plants abort flower or fruit buds if water is scarce. Being on a house wall, your plant is in a 'rain shadow', so you will need to give it enough moisture to maintain and swell the fruit. A high potash feed, such as tomato food, would also help. Congrats on the blueberries. Do you grow them in pots, or is your soil naturally acidic? Spider |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Drat - Vine Weevils!
In article , Spider
writes It sounds as if you were lucky. If it's put on that much growth, the roots must be okay. I'm not sure how long you have to wait for fruit on Kiwi, but the pertinent question is 'do you get flowers?' If you don't, you certainly won't get fruit. I'm assuming here that you've got one of the self-fertile clones? Kiwi, generally, need a male and female plant for fruit production. If you haven't got a self-fertile one (such as 'Jenny'), then you will need a partner for your plant. I'm pretty sure its a self fertile plant - can't remember the name atm. To my knowledge, it hasn't had flowers yet. I wasn't expecting any this year due to the evils. Past year or two I didn't expect much as the plant in its pot had been pretty much neglected over the winter. Year before last, I thought it was dead but gave it a chance and in spring it burst forth. I promised to look after it from this year - which is why I was planting it out. Although close to the house, its well mulched and right next to a major drainage channel that we put in to carry all the water that comes off the clay of the hill. It also gets well watered and as of this year, well fed Congrats on the blueberries. Do you grow them in pots, or is your soil naturally acidic? Bit of both - (pots and ground) but no naturally acidic soil. With the two I planted out about 4-5 years ago, I dug a gurt big hole and filled it with ericaceous stuff. It only gets direct rain or butt water, and they get a lot of coniferous needles/leaves from nearby trees - and regular ericaceous food and sequestered iron on top of standard growmore dressings. To be honest, they don't seem to be plants that get really upset by the soil acidity. There are only two in the ground, but they are different varieties, one ripening fairly early and the other being ready just before the first starts tailing off. The two in pots are the same age as the groud planted ones and have performed nearly as well - they're already in biggish posts but need repotting again Also, this year, it was a bit of a (one sided) fight between me and at least two female blackbirds. As the berries on the potted bushes started to come ripe, the birds would fly onto the bush, pick a few berries and drop them onto the ground then hop down and eat them. Then repeat the process. For some reason, I let them keep doing it - they looked so happy They also looked quite funny. Fully grown blackbirds aren't the most elegant of creatures when manoeuvring through the branches (compared to small natural tree dwellers). Funny, but they didn't seem to do this with the planted out bushes. The potted plants were on the patio wall, fairly close to the house - the planted out ones are in what I'd have thought of as a much more natural blackbird environment. Might be that the potted ones were riper earlier when the birds really fancied plump berries. -- regards andyw |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Drat - Vine Weevils!
"newsb" wrote in message
... In article , Spider writes It sounds as if you were lucky. If it's put on that much growth, the roots must be okay. I'm not sure how long you have to wait for fruit on Kiwi, but the pertinent question is 'do you get flowers?' If you don't, you certainly won't get fruit. I'm assuming here that you've got one of the self-fertile clones? Kiwi, generally, need a male and female plant for fruit production. If you haven't got a self-fertile one (such as 'Jenny'), then you will need a partner for your plant. I'm pretty sure its a self fertile plant - can't remember the name atm. To my knowledge, it hasn't had flowers yet. I wasn't expecting any this year due to the evils. Past year or two I didn't expect much as the plant in its pot had been pretty much neglected over the winter. Year before last, I thought it was dead but gave it a chance and in spring it burst forth. I promised to look after it from this year - which is why I was planting it out. Although close to the house, its well mulched and right next to a major drainage channel that we put in to carry all the water that comes off the clay of the hill. It also gets well watered and as of this year, well fed Fingers crossed for fruit next year then. Good luck. Congrats on the blueberries. Do you grow them in pots, or is your soil naturally acidic? Bit of both - (pots and ground) but no naturally acidic soil. With the two I planted out about 4-5 years ago, I dug a gurt big hole and filled it with ericaceous stuff. It only gets direct rain or butt water, and they get a lot of coniferous needles/leaves from nearby trees - and regular ericaceous food and sequestered iron on top of standard growmore dressings. To be honest, they don't seem to be plants that get really upset by the soil acidity. There are only two in the ground, but they are different varieties, one ripening fairly early and the other being ready just before the first starts tailing off. The two in pots are the same age as the groud planted ones and have performed nearly as well - they're already in biggish posts but need repotting again Thanks for all this information, Andy. We both love blueberries and scoff lots of supermarket ones, but it would be great to pick crops from our own garden. I've got two or three big pots, so I may try that first while I get a patch cleared in the garden. Also, this year, it was a bit of a (one sided) fight between me and at least two female blackbirds. As the berries on the potted bushes started to come ripe, the birds would fly onto the bush, pick a few berries and drop them onto the ground then hop down and eat them. Then repeat the process. For some reason, I let them keep doing it - they looked so happy They also looked quite funny. Fully grown blackbirds aren't the most elegant of creatures when manoeuvring through the branches (compared to small natural tree dwellers). :~) It's nice to know chaps are hopelessly soft-hearted, too! I would do just the same, I know, and almost be pleased I could watch them eat my berries. I suspect, though, we wouldn't lose so many because I have a couple of cats. I would be horrified if the cats harmed a bird (as they very occasionally do :~( ), but the deterrent effect if useful. Funny, but they didn't seem to do this with the planted out bushes. The potted plants were on the patio wall, fairly close to the house - the planted out ones are in what I'd have thought of as a much more natural blackbird environment. Might be that the potted ones were riper earlier when the birds really fancied plump berries. Yes, that is a bit odd. Perhaps you're right about the ripening, and maybe those berries are also sweeter and have a more tender skin, having ripened more quickly in the heat from the house wall. We may never know. -- regards andyw Thanks once again, Andy. Spider |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Vine weevils - can they fly? | United Kingdom | |||
Vine Weevils | United Kingdom | |||
Vine weevils and garden chafer larvae | United Kingdom | |||
vine weevils, again ! | United Kingdom |