fuchsia gall mite
 

Anyone know anything informative about this pest? I know it's been in
the gardening magazines and papers but apart from no known
antidote/control, the fact that in future people might have to steer
clear of fuchsias like they do begonias now and the fact that the mites
are so small you will miss them there hasn't been a photo of the damaged
plants or how to recognise it on your plants etc..
Many people who grow fuchsias seem to grow HUGE quantities of them and
hang them from every bit of their land and/or house. They'll be
devastated.
Does anyone know if hardy fuchsias will also be hit as much?

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

fuchsia gall mite
 

On Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:39:41 +0000, Janet Tweedy
wrote:

Anyone know anything informative about this pest? I know it's been in
the gardening magazines and papers but apart from no known
antidote/control, the fact that in future people might have to steer
clear of fuchsias like they do begonias now and the fact that the mites
are so small you will miss them there hasn't been a photo of the damaged
plants or how to recognise it on your plants etc..
Many people who grow fuchsias seem to grow HUGE quantities of them and
hang them from every bit of their land and/or house. They'll be
devastated.
Does anyone know if hardy fuchsias will also be hit as much?

Janet

Extract from the RHS fact page on it:

"The affected plants were previously healthy hardy fuchsias that had
been growing in a private garden near Fareham, Hants, for about 20
years."

Which answers your question about hardy fuchsias.

The full factsheet is at
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/...e.aspx?pid=512

At the moment it's relatively confined in the UK but so was downy
mildew a few years ago! If someone's a fuchsia nut then I suppose the
only way they're going to protect themselves is by not buying in any
new plants but propagating from what they've already got.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay.

fuchsia gall mite
 

On Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:39:41 +0000, Janet Tweedy
wrote:

Anyone know anything informative about this pest? I know it's been in
the gardening magazines and papers but apart from no known
antidote/control, the fact that in future people might have to steer
clear of fuchsias like they do begonias now and the fact that the mites
are so small you will miss them there hasn't been a photo of the damaged
plants or how to recognise it on your plants etc..
Many people who grow fuchsias seem to grow HUGE quantities of them and
hang them from every bit of their land and/or house. They'll be
devastated.
Does anyone know if hardy fuchsias will also be hit as much?

Janet

And just checking - when you say "begonias" do you mean "impatiens
walleriana"? I'm not aware of a begonia-specific problem (gulp!)

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay.

fuchsia gall mite
 

In article , Jake
writes
And just checking - when you say "begonias" do you mean "impatiens
walleriana"?


Yes sorry, was assuming it would be taken as such :)
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

FGM affects many fuchsias including Hardy types. There is no known cure but the policy is to cut the plant down below affected area and burn the off cuts, at least do not compost or send them for green recycling. If you wish to see photos of damage go to https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=167016081323

Derek

fuchsia gall mite
 

On Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:39:41 +0000, Janet Tweedy
wrote:

Many people who grow fuchsias seem to grow HUGE quantities of them and
hang them from every bit of their land and/or house. They'll be
devastated.

yes, Growers have been looking out for this for a number of years, It
was contained to the South Coast for a few years, but its increasing
northwards, thankfully slowly.

-
-
-
Lincolnfuchsiasociety.info

(Any Olympic GameMakers here?)

I would be grateful for any information on the spread of FGM northwards as I am tracking the spread and the only outbreaks that have been confirmed are along the south coast, so I would be interested in your source of this information.

Derek of Dorset

fuchsia gall mite
 

In article , Derek Luther
writes
I would be grateful for any information on the spread of FGM northwards
as I am tracking the spread and the only outbreaks that have been
confirmed are along the south coast, so I would be interested in your
source of this information.

Derek of Dorset


From the RHS site ...................


"Gardeners swapping fuchsia plants and cuttings need to beware a pest
that looks set to spread across the country, warns the RHS.

Fuchsia gall mite, Aculops fuchsiae, was first detected in the UK by the
RHS three years ago when one of its members in Hampshire sent a fuchsia
with severely distorted growth to the RHS advisory service for
diagnosis. Since then more infested samples sent from the South, from
Kent to Devon, show that it is spreading."


This from their Media Centre top ten pests reported

=6. Fuchsia gall mite (Aculops fuchsiae). This destructive pest infests
the shoot tips and flower buds of fuchsias, causing gross distortion and
preventing the normal development of foliage and flowers. This pest was
first detected in the UK in 2007 when a sample of an infested fuchsia
was sent to the RHS Members’ Advisory Service from a garden in
Hampshire. Since then it has become widespread in counties along the
south coast of England and is spreading further north. This is the first
time this pest has featured in the top ten.

================================================== =====================

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Thanks for the information but what I was seeking was actual locations of outbreaks. All I require is the postcode. I have already plotted over forty outbreaks none of which is more than about 10 miles from the coast. I am well aware of all published details of this pests.

Thanks and regards

Derek of Dorset

fuchsia gall mite
 

Derek Luther derek.luther utout wrote:
Thanks for the information but what I was seeking was actual locations
of outbreaks. All I require is the postcode. I have already plotted over
forty outbreaks none of which is more than about 10 miles from the
coast. I am well aware of all published details of this pests.

I can't help with your research, as this was a new one on me, but I was
reading the Saturday Independent earlier (yes, I'm a slow reader,
apparently!) and it was listed as the 6th most annoying garden pest (after
slugs+snails, vine weevil and, umm, 3 others that I can't recall offhand.
Which would imply it's spread quite a bit already.

fuchsia gall mite
 

In article , Derek Luther
writes
Thanks for the information but what I was seeking was actual locations
of outbreaks


I daresay the RHS will have specific locations or write to a good
gardening magazine and they could be inspired to run a column asking for
the most northerly point affected on a sort of running database!
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk