Vine weevil grubs eating my shrubs
Last post 10-06-2011 1:08 AM by The Hedge Folk. 2 replies.
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09/06/2011 11:55 PM
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- leika
- Leicestershire
- 10 Apr 2011
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10
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My acers and hydrangeas have been looking peaky for a few weeks so I took one out of its pot to put it into the ground thinking it needed more space and found the rootball eaten away and the compost full of vine weevil grubs. Checked the roots of the other potted plants and found grubs in all of them: sarcococca, honeysuckle, geraniums, fuschias. Some penstemons that I moved from pots to the border last week are also looking ill for no reason, so I'm afraid they may have grubs in the roots as well.
I wish I had acted when I first noticed the plants looking like they hadn't been watered even though the compost was moist, but I thought all the high winds were drying up the leaves :(
What is the quickest way of killing the grubs off? I'll buy something tomorrow but am afraid that by the time it works the grubs will have eaten all the roots and it will be too late to save the plants.
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10/06/2011 12:50 AM
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Long-term plantings in containers, such as your shrubs, will be more susceptible to damage from vine weavils than if they were planted out into the garden soil. So planting the hydrangea out in the garden will help. The Penstemons should also be okay, now that they're in open garden soil. It's possible that they just need watering or feeding to get them healthy again. But for the plants still in pots I would recommend using Nemasys Vine weavil killer. It's comes in a packet which you mix in your watering can and then water on the soil in the pots. Contained in the packet are microscopic nematode worms which seek out and attack vine weevil larvae, eventually killing them. It is very effective, but because it is a "live" product it cannot be stored for any length of time, so needs to be used as soon as it arrives. It also has to be used under certain conditions, for instance the soil temperature must be warm enough and the compost must be kept moist to allow the nematode worms to move around freely in the soil, otherwise they may die if the compost is allowed to dry out. http://www.nemasysinfo.com/weevils.shtml
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10/06/2011 01:08 AM
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I second that, I mainly use it for all my indoor succulents. Weevil grubs love a nice bit of Crassula, so I have to ensure that they don't live to regret it. Ed
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