Galanthus January 2009

[Maggi Young]

Jo  - Provado is great for weevils but of late it has done nothing for fungus gnats.  It was a good precaution against aphids until last month when we saw aphids on hellebores that were treated in December.

johnw

Is this a question of the treatment somehow being less effective in colder temperatures? Less being absorbed by the plants  and so on?

[johnw]

provado is usually the best, however it didn't work for me with scale insects.
i had scale insects that had become completely immune to all chemicals, they destroyed my tropical orchid collection, very sad but that's another story.

but for aphids its great. i didn't know the spray worked on vine weevils as well? i know of the provado drench for vine weevils, this is what i use on my auriculas and rhodos etc.


not so windy down here, although i am on a island.

rob

Jo  - Provado dench has not been working on fungus gnats for quite some time - in warm weather and cool.  For several years, until this autumn, it has worked well for aphids on the hellebore seedlings applied in December. The seedlings under lights in the shed kept at 5c.  In the cold greenhouse (again minimum 4-5c) the drench has worked against weevils on cyclamen - applied in late autumn.

Rob - While scale is not on the Provado container I have it cleaned up Clematis x cartmanii 'Joe' when applied in September.  I was a bit surprised. It has also saved many a Primula from root aphids and weevils.

johnw

 

[johnw]

Just wondering if any nivalis Pocs show on the sales tables at the RHS Shows and which ones might be worth getting.

johnw

[Jo]

Do you think you've got resistance  ?  I was thinking of the drench, I haven't tried it as a spray, just used the wrong term.

[mark smyth]

John a nivalis poc is a nivalis poc is a .. from what I've seen anyway. A few years ago I was in Scottish and English/Scottish border woods. They are everywhere.

[johnw]

Do you think you've got resistance  ?  I was thinking of the drench, I haven't tried it as a spray, just used the wrong term.

Jo - Sadly I think so.  For now we've switched to Orthene as a spray  to see what happens.

johnw

[Michael J Campbell]

Rob, did you try Malathion, scale bugs need an oily substance to penetrate their waxy coat? Methylated spirit applies with a small brush should  do the trick if all else fails. Or try a double dose of liquid Derris every three days for 9 days.

[johnw]

i could have sworn that the provado bottle had scale insect on it!
even the one that you make up yourself, unless they have taken it of?

Rob - The registration maybe different in Canada. Mine is called Intercept (Imidichloprid 60%) and it is a soluble powder not a liquid. One half teaspoon per 2 gallon Haws.

johnw

[annew]

I have my suspicions that plants treated with provado produce nectar toxic to bees - I found many bee bodies after I watered my cyclamen with it against vine weevil.

[KentGardener]

I have my suspicions that plants treated with provado produce nectar toxic to bees - I found many bee bodies after I watered my cyclamen with it against vine weevil.

Hi Anne

a worrying observation (not good if it is the case    -  though there are many reports on nasty things killing off bees in recent years.......)

Also - if the bee didn't quite die - would that mean that provado could then make it into honey?....

John

[steve owen]

Baylham and Sickle today.

[Maggi Young]

Baylham is not a name I know at all, Steve.... I'm thinking this is a double, is that right? ......Not much in the way of an ovary and I think I can spot extra underpinnings! 
I do like the fat outers  giving that rich lampshade look .... I'm so shallow!

[mark smyth]

Rob you have mention virus a few times in the past. One major problem will be the way you grow them in fish boxes. They are also very susceptable to transfer of the Stagonospora fungus. How many do you have in each box? You mention earlier this week having tall ones at the back and I assume they get smaller towards the front.

[Maggi Young]

Rob you have mention virus a few times in the past. One major problem will be the way you grow them in fish boxes. They are also very susceptable to transfer of the Stagonospora fungus. How many do you have in each box? You mention earlier this week having tall ones at the back and I assume they get smaller towards the front.

 Why would this method of growing be any more likely to lead to health problems for the plants than growing in pots or in the open garden?   

[mark smyth]

I'm thinking poor drainage, holding water too long and too close together. Of course bulbs in pots can suffer from these conditions but most of us will have one species/cultivar per pot. It the garden the various snowdrops wont be so close together.