RE: CULT: pillbug damage
- Subject: RE: [iris-talk] CULT: pillbug damage
- From: M* R*
- Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2002 10:45:41 -0700
Oh, Janet, they (the pillbugs) have definitely been the culprits. They have
chewed halfway through the base of some rhizomes with little or no sign of
rot if the chewed surface was above the soil line. They seem to like
Afternoon Delight and Connection a lot. Armies of the little critters just
nibbling away side by side. I have a careful eye for such things. Now the
earwigs don't really eat the rhizomes, though they probably taste a nibble
sometimes. Those tiny taste wounds plus the fermenting earwig poop when
they nest in the outer fan leaves will sometimes cause rot in the rhizomes.
I haven't had too many earwigs this year, and none of the root damage you
mention. Thankfully either the hot weather (which usually causes more rot)
or the bluebelly lizards seem to be thinning out the pillbugs.
If anyone is in southern California at bloom season next year, I should have
some really nice clumps of newer iris to see!
John Reeds, in 9b southern California
> ----------
> From: Janet Stromborg[SMTP:twinhill@earthlink.net]
> Reply To: iris-talk@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2002 10:32 AM
> To: iris-talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [iris-talk] CULT: pillbug damage
>
> John,
>
> I found pillbugs under a couple of my iris rhizomes but concluded that
> they were eating the already dead roots which had died from some other
> cause. I've always assumed that pillbugs eat decaying plant material
> preferentially. I wonder if they were the cause of your root damage and
> rot or were only cleaning up after the fact. Here's a URL:
> http://www.ent.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/sowbus.html
>
> Janet in Denmark, WI
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: MemsCo_John Reeds
> To: iris-talk@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2002 11:11 AM
> Subject: [iris-talk] CULT: pillbug damage
>
>
> This year my new flowerbeds were full of pillbugs/sowbugs, and they
> chewed
> big holes in the base of a number of rhizomes, causing a fair amount of
> rot.
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Free $5 Love Reading
Risk Free!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/TPvn8A/PfREAA/Ey.GAA/2gGylB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
