Who's been eating my daffs?
 

None of the daffs and narcissi planted I planted in one of my front
garden's borders in Autumn 03 have come up at all this Spring. They
gave us a fab display last Spring. When I dug up to see what had
happened to my bulbs, I discovered that many were rotten, and some
were apparently unaffected, but had neither root nor shoot. I
dissected one of those, to discover that it was partly rotten, and
where it was rotten, I found two types of larvae: one absolutely
minute, pure white, long little things, and the other a sort of dirty
cream coloured mini-maggot, with a little black head.
Can anyone tell me what larvae these are? Will they attack other
plants? To my surprise, there are long-established snowdrops in the
border which were totally unaffected? What can I do to get rid of
these fellas, or if they don't endanger other plants, should I simply
forget about daffs and narcissi in that border?
Thank you for any help you can provide!





Cat(h)
The world swirls...

"Cat" wrote in message
...
None of the daffs and narcissi planted I planted in one of my front
garden's borders in Autumn 03 have come up at all this Spring. They
gave us a fab display last Spring. When I dug up to see what had
happened to my bulbs, I discovered that many were rotten, and some
were apparently unaffected, but had neither root nor shoot. I
dissected one of those, to discover that it was partly rotten, and
where it was rotten, I found two types of larvae: one absolutely
minute, pure white, long little things, and the other a sort of dirty
cream coloured mini-maggot, with a little black head.
Can anyone tell me what larvae these are? Will they attack other
plants? To my surprise, there are long-established snowdrops in the
border which were totally unaffected? What can I do to get rid of
these fellas, or if they don't endanger other plants, should I simply
forget about daffs and narcissi in that border?
Thank you for any help you can provide!




Waterlogged soil can cause fungal attacks. Narcissus fly and stem and bulb
eelworm can attack bulbs.

--
Regards,
Alan.

Preserve wildlife - Pickle a SQUIRREL to reply.

On Tue, 8 Mar 2005 23:26:14 -0000, "Alan Gabriel"
wrote:


"Cat" wrote in message
.. .
None of the daffs and narcissi planted I planted in one of my front
garden's borders in Autumn 03 have come up at all this Spring. They
gave us a fab display last Spring. When I dug up to see what had
happened to my bulbs, I discovered that many were rotten, and some
were apparently unaffected, but had neither root nor shoot. I
dissected one of those, to discover that it was partly rotten, and
where it was rotten, I found two types of larvae: one absolutely
minute, pure white, long little things, and the other a sort of dirty
cream coloured mini-maggot, with a little black head.
Can anyone tell me what larvae these are? Will they attack other
plants? To my surprise, there are long-established snowdrops in the
border which were totally unaffected? What can I do to get rid of
these fellas, or if they don't endanger other plants, should I simply
forget about daffs and narcissi in that border?
Thank you for any help you can provide!




Waterlogged soil can cause fungal attacks. Narcissus fly and stem and bulb
eelworm can attack bulbs.


Thanks for that. My border is not waterlogged in the winter at all,
so I assume that a combination of the fly and eelworm are at fault.
Will they attack other plants I may plant there? Is there any way to
get rid of them?





Cat(h)
The world swirls...

"Cat" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 8 Mar 2005 23:26:14 -0000, "Alan Gabriel"
wrote:

Waterlogged soil can cause fungal attacks. Narcissus fly and stem and
bulb
eelworm can attack bulbs.


Thanks for that. My border is not waterlogged in the winter at all,
so I assume that a combination of the fly and eelworm are at fault.
Will they attack other plants I may plant there? Is there any way to
get rid of them?



With Narcissus fly the bulbs soften and rot as the grubs burrow into them.
Affected bulbs fail to flower and just produce narrow grass-like leaves.
Bulbs planted in sunny sites are more vulnerable.

Burn affected bulbs along with the grubs. Rake soil into the holes left in
the soil as the foliage dies down. This will stop the fly from laying eggs
near the bulbs. Alternatively, cover the bulbs with horticultural fleece as
the leaves die down.

For eelworms, destroy affected plants and avoid replanting in the same soil
for at least three years. Maintain good soil hygene.

--
Regards,
Alan.

Preserve wildlife - Pickle a SQUIRREL to reply.

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 01:13:19 -0000, "Alan Gabriel"
wrote:


"Cat" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 8 Mar 2005 23:26:14 -0000, "Alan Gabriel"
wrote:

Waterlogged soil can cause fungal attacks. Narcissus fly and stem and
bulb
eelworm can attack bulbs.


Thanks for that. My border is not waterlogged in the winter at all,
so I assume that a combination of the fly and eelworm are at fault.
Will they attack other plants I may plant there? Is there any way to
get rid of them?



With Narcissus fly the bulbs soften and rot as the grubs burrow into them.
Affected bulbs fail to flower and just produce narrow grass-like leaves.
Bulbs planted in sunny sites are more vulnerable.

Burn affected bulbs along with the grubs. Rake soil into the holes left in
the soil as the foliage dies down. This will stop the fly from laying eggs
near the bulbs. Alternatively, cover the bulbs with horticultural fleece as
the leaves die down.


Many thanks for all your advice. I take it other plants will not be
affected?

For eelworms, destroy affected plants and avoid replanting in the same soil
for at least three years. Maintain good soil hygene.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Forgive the question of a novice, but what on earth does that mean?






Cat(h)
The world swirls...