Re: abutilons
barbara sargent wrote:
>
> To David, Moira and anyone else who grows abutilons: how do you keep the
> ants->scale off them? I love abutilons but have had disappointing damage
> down to them by the ant/scale combination, leading to the sooty,sticky,
> black fungus on the leaves.
>
> Barbara - in Berkeley
We use Savona, an organic soap preparation here in England so that one
gets a clear sticky mess rather than a black one. The advantage is that
if you are either not organic or get driven to desperation you can
incorporate some really nasty toxins in the soap and slaughter
everything.....which of course you can't do if you are growing Abutilons
for Chinese medicinal practitioners. Does ordinary washing up liquid
count as organic? Our Abutilons are flowering for the first time today
and are already covered in white fly because we haven't even sprayed
with soap yet, so what with that and the foot and mouth and the rain
which hasn't really drawn breath since last August, us Brits are feeling
a bit low at the moment, specially after reading about all the wonderful
flowers in California. And a special pest which I hope is unique to
Arne Herbs, wretched deer got into the orders tunnel last night and
chomped down everything they could get their nasty little teeth into. OK
to shut the doors at night now,but in the Spring the poor plants will
cook. Apparently Naples almost got washed away last night so we are not
alone....and the Acacia Karoo has just got its first leaves out so
Spring must surely be round the corner, light at the end of the tunnel
and silver linings in black clouds, if I recite enough cliches to
myself, I might convince myself that they are true
Incidentally I really appreciated the remarks about "dumb-downed" garden
centres, we have the same process here too, the dumber the better, it
makes for more sales for us beleagured small specialist nurseries.
Anthony....keeping his head above the water in England
