Pests & Diseases 

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Q How can I cure blackspot on roses - They get it every year?
Q My primroses seem to have rotted off at ground level, with only one or two roots left.
Q My indoor plants look sick, and I have found brown crusty ‘things’ on the underside of the leaves.
Q My clematis just seems to have wilted and turned brown?
Q What can I do about slugs?
Q How can I get rid of my neighbour's cat; and the wild foxes?

A A good idea, is to try to prevent Blackspot - then you won’t have the problem of trying to cure it. Blackspot is a foliage fungal disease of roses and is quite unmistakable, with the tell tale circular/eliptical black spots. Good cultivation will go far in preventing this disease - i.e. proper feeding, pruning and general cultivation. Once the new growth is established in the Spring - after pruning - then regular spraying with RoseClear 2 or MultiRose (which also kills aphids and feeds the plant as well), will normally keep the disease at bay.

If infected, then take off all affected leaves - burn - spray with the above and apply a good fertiliser (TopRose or Blood Fish and Bone). As an aid to prevention, try not to splash the foliage when watering the plants.

Roses grown in town centre areas seem to get less infected. Perhaps it is the extra suphur - an excellent fungicide - in the air!!!

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A I don’t think that they have actually ‘rotted’. I wouldn’t mind betting that if you scrape the soil away under where the plant has ‘rotted’, you will find some rather nasty little maggots. These will be the larvae of the Vine Weevil Beetle. They feed upon the roots of certain plants, such as primulas, many alpines and also fuchsias etc. The larvae will be about 1 cm long, creamy white, with a brown head. (Squash it!). The Vine weevil beetle itself, is about twice the size of a ladybird, black and with two ‘feelers’ out front. You won’t see these very often; but you may see the damage that they do! They feed upon leaves of various plants - cutting in to the edges of the leaves - quite distinct. Normal pesticides are useless against this pest. Bio have solved the problem with a new product, ‘Provado’ Vine Weevil Killer bought out a A parasitic nematode - which eats the larvae - is sometimes available. The latest claim for control, comes from Armilatox; normally used for fighting Honey Fungus.

The beetles are nocturnal, and I know of several nurserymen who have had some success with a static light attracting them at night !!

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A The leaves are probably sticky as well ! . This will be leaf-scale - a small sucking insect housed in a ‘shell’ - which sucks the sap from the plant. Just scraping most of them off will do wonders; however, they will soon multiply again unless ‘zapped’. I find that Sybol is good for these ‘nasties’. Systemic Insecticide Plant pins (Phostrogen) also do the trick.

Make sure that you inspect all other house plants for early infestation and check them regularly.

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Q My clematis just seems to have wilted and turned brown?

A It is probably suffering from called ‘Clematis Wilt’ - now that’s original! The plant leaves suddenly droop and within a few days turn brown. It is - as far as I am aware - an unexplained problem disease of this plant. No use watering it - no use spraying it. It has had it!... If you catch it soon enough though , you can cut it down to within a few inches from the ground, and it might restart healthy re-growth. If planting a new clematis, then give it a dressing of Bone meal at planting time (50g) and make sure that the root ball is 5cm below ground level.

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Q What can I do about slugs?

A Disgusting things. They don’t normally enjoy slithering across gritty surfaces, so a local dressing of fine grit or sharp sand can help. Sprinkle a ring around the Delphiniums and Hostas and Lupins - favourites of the slimy creatures. If you have a pond in the garden, you will probably have frogs: They eat slugs. Yuk! The other alternative, is a light dressing of Slug Pellets. It only requires a light dressing, so don’t overdo it. SlugGuard is also good. Slug Pellets also attract the slugs to where they have been sprinkled.

A friend of mine, sprinkles the pellets into his neighbour’s gardens. His theory being, that whilst it kills the slugs in the neighbours garden, it also attracts his own slugs to the next door garden! He swears that it works! 

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A You have probably found out that fences are not a lot of good. Sprinkle some repellent (Scent-Off Pellets or Stay-Off) in the areas that they frequent most. Some swear by using orange peel that has been soaked in Eucalyptus oil overnight...Whichever you try, you will have to clean up the existing mess forst!! It will take a while before you break their habit. Pepper Dust also works - when the weather is dry.

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