Tag Archives: outdoor garden

Battle with Bugs

  By Rachel | May 1, 2012 - 6:52 pm | Plants
2 Comments

The battle with bugs has begun.  I woke up this morning to an unpleasant reality- bugs have been eating on my roses, my million bells, and my salvia.

I always promised myself that I wouldn’t use pesticides- I don’t like using chemicals with the kiddos around- so I have started out with dish soap and water, something that I have read does not hurt the plants but the bugs don’t like it.

Hopefully that will work.  If not, I may resort to a chemical dust.

Update:  two days of trying other things yielded no results- so I am reluctantly breaking out the Sevin-5.  Our tomato plants got totally obliterated by caterpillars last year, so my husband bought it to regularly treat the tomatoes in hopes that we may actually get to eat some this year.  So far so good.

I would love to hear any other suggestions you might have for dealing with bugs.  I would esp. love a natural remedy that actually works.

Here are some pics of the bugs that I have seen on my plants so you can keep an eye out for them too.

APHIDS

Aphids may be green, yellow, brown, red, or black depending on the species and the plants they feed on.  A few species appear waxy or wooly due to the secretion of a waxy white or gray substance over their body surface.

All are small, pear-shaped insects with long legs and antennae. Most species have a pair of tubelike structures called cornicles projecting backwards out of the hind end of their bodies. The presence of cornicles distinguishes aphids from all other insects.

*** For more info on aphids from site where I got the quote above, click here.

aphids

INCHWORMS (or caterpillars)

The best treatment for inchworms on roses is hand removal. Pick off the larvae and dispose of them appropriately. Some gardeners have no problem exterminating the creatures by squeezing. For the more sensitive person, drop the larvae into a bucket of soapy water. If the infestation is large, an insecticide containing Bacillus thuringiensis is an effective treatment. This bacterium is pathogenic to the insect but not to surrounding vegetation.

Ariel's Rose under siege.

SPIDER MITES

Go to this link to find out more info. about them- very concise and to the point with all the pertinent info.  click here

Note: These little guys are microscopic- you might not see them, just the damage they are doing to your plants.

Spider Mite - אקרית הקורים

A Day in the Garden

  By Rachel | March 28, 2012 - 11:33 am | Plants
1 Comment

Yesterday I planted several perennials and annuals in containers on my front and back porch.  Here are pictures and a short description of each plant and care instructions.

Pink Pop Hyssop (Agastache astromontana ‘Pink Pop’):

Flowers from mid-summer through early fall that attract butterflies.  This perennial can grow 2-3 ft tall and wide.  Very drought and heat tolerant once established.  Insect and disease resistant- plant in full sun in well-drained soil.

Agastache foeniculum Honey, hisopo anisado, Blue Giant Hyssop, menta regaliz

 

Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum ‘Metallicum’:

Grows to 12 in. tall and 18-24 inches wide.  Partial sun to shade, great for a shady porch or under trees.  Prefers moist, well drained soil.

Japanese painted fern

 

Dwarf Peruvian Lily (Alstroemeria sp ‘Pink or Red’):

Blooms spring to fall, need to remove spent flowers to encourage new growth and more blooms.  Makes great cut flowers.  Full-partial sun in well drained soil-severe heat may slow growth.  Grows 12″ tall and wide.  Twist and pull out spent stems- do not pinch or cut- this encourages the rhizome will be stimulated to produce new shoots.

00085cr7.jpeg

 

Pink Million Bells (Calibrachoa):

They love the heat- be sure to place them in full sun- even 4-5 hours of afternoon sun during the hottest part of summer. Great for containers and hanging baskets since they have a vining habit.  Keep soil moist, watering 2-3 times a week.  Attract hummingbirds. Continual flowering from spring to fall.  When watering, try to keep water off the leaves.

Pink Million Bells

 

Dragon Wing Begonia (Begonia sempervirens):

Full sun to shade- grows 12 to 15 inches tall and 18-24″ wide.  May grow taller in deep shade.  Water regularly keeping water off leaves and flowers.

Ashley and Dragon Wing Begonia

 

Pineapple Lily (Eucomis Comosa ‘Tugela Jade’):

Topped in August with 18″ flower spikes that are chartreuse in bud and open into white flowers.  They will come back year after year and spread if left alone.  They are slow to emerge in spring and usually appear after other flowers are already showing new growth.  This perennial likes full sun with some shade at the hottest part of the day.  The flowers are followed by green berries- grows 18″ tall and 1 1/2 ft wide in clumps.  Needs moist, well drained soil.

Eucomis pole-evansii #2

 

Orange Avens (Geum coccineum ‘Cooky’):

Plant in full- partial sun, attracts butterflies.  Low-maintenance perennial growing 18″ tall and 16″ wide.  Clumps will need to be divided every 3-4 years to keep plants healthy, prune back hard after blooming to encourage health of foliage.  Needs well drained soil.

 

Geum (avens)

 

Frosty Begonia:

This was an impulse buy- at $1.50 I couldn’t resist the lovely leaves.  I am not sure that this plant is a frosty begonia- I am headed back to the plant place again on Friday- so I will ask for more info while I am there.  For now, I have this plant in part. sun on the front porch.