What to Do When Potted Flowers Get Pests in Winter? Five Ways to Eliminate Pests
Although the Start of Winter has long since arrived, for pests with first-rate vitality, even when the weather is as cold as an ice cellar, it is still hard to freeze them all to death. And to keep potted plants growing healthily, necessary and effective measures must be taken to kill the pests!
Most convenient: sprinkle cigarette ash
In daily life people often flick cigarette ash into flower pots. Although this behavior is not very civilized, over time, observant flower lovers will find that flower pots with cigarette ash have no pests instead. This is because the harmful substances in cigarette ash can kill pests. If the cigarette ash is scattered on the surface of the potting soil, it can seep into the soil through moisture, leaving pests nowhere to hide.
Specific method:
Put cigarette ash and cut tobacco into clean water and soak for about 3 days, then pour the resulting cigarette ash water directly into the potting soil.
Most nutritious: add eggshells
Eggshells contain a large amount of calcium carbonate. After being burned, eggshells turn into slaked lime. If ants and other insects eat it, they will basically die.
Specific method:
1. First wash the eggshells and let them dry, then roast them slightly over a fire. Once the eggshells are slightly scorched, they can be crushed and used.
2. Scatter the eggshell powder on the surface of the potting soil.
Best for warmth: plant ash
Plant ash not only contains abundant potassium, but also has a sterilizing and disinfecting effect. In addition, plant ash is a good heat-preserving medium, and for potted plants about to spend the winter, it exactly meets the need to keep the roots warm.
Specific method:
First scatter the plant ash on top of the potting soil, then spray a little water on it.
Best for aeration: wood shavings
Wood shavings have a very notable warming effect. If the temperature drops below 0°C, a layer of wood shavings can be spread at the bottom of the flower pot; besides preventing freezing and keeping warm, it also helps enhance water permeability.
Specific method:
1. Place the wood shavings in the sun and expose them for 2 days to remove the gum-like components in the wood shavings.
2. First spread a layer of wood shavings about 1 cm thick at the bottom of the flower pot, then spread the potting soil on top. Be sure not to let the plant roots come into direct contact with the wood shavings, to avoid burning the roots.
Most delicious: cinnamon powder
It is said that ants, fruit flies and other small insects especially dislike the smell of cinnamon powder. If fungus gnats appear in the flower pot, cinnamon powder can be scattered on top of the potting soil; besides sterilizing and disinfecting, it can also increase the survival rate of rooting.
Specific method:
Take a small amount of cinnamon powder and evenly scatter it around the potting soil.
How to Eliminate Overwintering Pests in Gardens?
After Frost's Descent, we gradually move toward winter. During this period the weather gets colder and colder, with a large temperature difference between day and night. Even pests and pathogenic fungi begin preparing to overwinter, so now is the time to take action: understand the growth habits of various overwintering pests, then eliminate the overwintering pests and destroy their overwintering sites to reduce the occurrence of pests and diseases the following year.
Common pests in late autumn include the bamboo stem flat aphid and the Japanese wax scale; common pests and diseases of chrysanthemums include the yellow-breasted thrips, the chrysanthemum stem borer, the chrysanthemum aphid, red spider mites, chrysanthemum gray mold, and chrysanthemum brown spot disease. Below, let's talk about how to prevent and control these overwintering pests and diseases!
1. Common Pests in Late Autumn
Bamboo stem flat aphid: Hemiptera, Aphididae (Hormaphidinae)
Also known as the bamboo pseudo-horned aphid, it mainly harms clustered bamboos such as Bambusa multiplex and Bambusa multiplex f. fernleaf. Parthenogenetic adult aphids and nymphs pierce and suck sap on the tender branches and stems of bamboo. After being damaged, tender bamboo shrinks and turns brown, inducing severe sooty mold disease, causing black sooty mold to form on the entire tender branches and stems; in severe cases it causes the bamboo to die. This pest has multiple generations a year, and generally overwinters on bamboo stems as wingless parthenogenetic aphids and nymphs. In September and October, as the temperature drops, it becomes frequently active and reaches its second peak of occurrence. After November the population decreases and most enter the overwintering state, but in a warm winter it can continue to occur and cause damage.
[Control methods]:
1. Cultivation management: manually prune out pest-carrying branches and maintain ventilation and light transmission. In winter, clean up the garden and remove weeds in time.
2. Chemical control: spray 10% imidacloprid or 1.2% matrine at 1000 times dilution for control.
Japanese wax scale: Hemiptera, Cerococcidae
Japanese wax scale, also known as the barnacle scale, mainly harms Magnolia denudata, camphor, papaya, Michelia figo, Magnolia grandiflora, holly, camellia, and gardenia. This pest pierces and sucks on tender branches and young leaves of trees. In severe cases, the leaves dry up and it induces sooty mold disease, making the canopy black and seriously affecting garden landscaping. This pest has one generation a year. In mid-to-late November, it overwinters as fertilized female adults on branches, or as eggs inside the female adult scale cover.
[Control methods]
1. Cultivation management: appropriately reduce planting density; greenhouses and conservatories should pay attention to ventilation and light transmission. When scale insects are found on individual branches or leaves, they should be removed promptly with a soft brush or picked off. Combined with pruning, pest branches, weak branches and overly dense branches can also be manually cut off to maintain the plant's ventilation and light transmission.
2. Chemical control: currently 40% acephate emulsifiable concentrate can be used for root drenching. The concentration used is calculated according to the plant's diameter at breast height; dilute with water at a dosage of 10 ml per 10 cm for root drenching.
2. Chrysanthemum Pests and Diseases
Yellow-breasted thrips: Thysanoptera, Thripidae
The yellow-breasted thrips mainly harms ornamental plants such as Chinese rose, rose, and chrysanthemum. Because of different regions, the number of generations also differs. In the southern provinces it occurs more than 10 generations a year, while under greenhouse conditions in the north it can occur year-round. Both adults and nymphs hide inside the flowers to do damage, using their mouthparts to suck the sap of the floral organs; eggs are half-buried under the epidermis of petals or stamens. High temperature and drought are both favorable to the occurrence of this pest. Autumn is exactly the season when chrysanthemums bloom, so control of this pest should be strengthened.
[Control methods]
1. Cultivation management: carry out autumn plowing on infested land to kill overwintering adults and nymphs; remove dead branches and weeds in infested land and burn them on the spot.
2. Chemical control: when the occurrence is severe, spray 10% imidacloprid wettable powder at 1000 times dilution, once every 7~10 days, for 2~3 consecutive times. For potted flowers, 5% carbosulfan granules 1~2 g can also be buried along the edge of the pot (for a potted flower with a diameter of 170 mm).
Chrysanthemum stem borer: Coleoptera, Cerambycidae
The chrysanthemum stem borer is an important boring pest on chrysanthemums, also known as the chrysanthemum pith borer, chrysanthemum longhorn beetle, and chrysanthemum tiger. When the female lays eggs, she first bites 2 semicircular notches horizontally into the chrysanthemum stem sheath, and lays eggs below or inside the notches; the stem sheath at the bitten area often loses water, wilts, or breaks. After hatching, the larvae bore into the stem and feed downward from top to bottom, destroying the conducting tissue and affecting the plant's growth vigor; in severe cases the aboveground part withers. This pest has 1 generation a year, and after November the mature larvae enter the overwintering state at the root and stem base of the chrysanthemum.
[Control methods]
1. Manual control: remove old roots with overwintering larvae; during the period when larvae hatch and cause damage, cut off pest branches according to the wilted or broken damaged areas and destroy them.
2. Cultivation management: use cuttings for propagation and use division less, to control its spread.
3. Chemical control: bury 5% carbosulfan granules.
Chrysanthemum aphid: Hemiptera, Aphididae
Also known as the chrysanthemum small long-tube aphid, this pest mainly harms ornamental plants of the Asteraceae family such as chrysanthemums. At the first outbreak, it mainly uses adults and nymphs to pierce and suck young stems and leaves. At the second peak in late autumn, it gathers to harm flower stalks and flower buds; after flowering it harms the stamens and enters the tubular petals, seriously affecting flower quality and ornamental value. From mid-November, wingless parthenogenetic female aphids concentrate on seed chrysanthemums or chrysanthemum stubble to overwinter.
[Control methods]
Chemical control: spray 5% imidacloprid emulsifiable concentrate or 0.6% matrine lactone aqueous solution at 1000~1500 times dilution.
Red spider mite: Arachnida, Acariformes
This pest is a small red or red-yellow mite; with the naked eye only red dots can be seen. Nymphs often gather on the undersides of leaves and on flower buds of some flowers to pierce and suck sap, causing leaves to dry, yellow and die, and flowers and fruits to wither. In the warm south it completes more than 20 generations a year, with overlapping generations. Female mites live on dead branches, fallen leaves, and weeds, and in greenhouses they can cause damage without overwintering.
[Control methods]
Chemical control: spray with avermectin-type agents such as 1.8% abamectin emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 times dilution or 73% propargite emulsifiable concentrate at 2000~3000 times dilution.
Chrysanthemum gray mold
This pathogen mainly harms the leaves, neck, and floral organs of chrysanthemums. Infected petals initially produce small water-soaked brown spots; when humidity is high they spread rapidly and rot, and a large amount of gray moldy material is produced on the rotting parts. Under conditions of high temperature and around 20°C, this disease is prone to outbreak. The corolla is also prone to disease when kept in moist conditions for a long time.
[Control methods]
1. Agricultural control: promptly remove diseased residues in the planting garden, pay attention to drainage, and planting should not be too dense. For potted chrysanthemums, the amount of watering should be controlled.
2. Chemical control: at the early stage of disease, spray 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 1000 times dilution, for 2~3 consecutive sprays.
Chrysanthemum brown spot disease
Chrysanthemum brown spot disease, also known as black spot disease and leaf blight, is an important disease of Asteraceae plants and mainly harms leaves. When the disease is severe, the lesions merge with each other, and the entire leaf turns yellow, dries up and falls off; in the later stage, small black dots form on the lesions, which are the pathogen's pycnidia. Some diseased leaves roll into a tube shape and hang down, with uneven leaf surfaces, and fall easily.
[Control methods]
1. Cultivation management: prune in time so the plant has ventilation and light transmission, and promptly remove and burn diseased leaves and diseased plants. When watering, avoid pouring water on the top and do not make the potting soil or field too wet; do not let mud splash onto the leaves. After rain, wash the mud off the leaves and drain promptly.
2. Chemical control: spray 50% carbendazim at 500 times dilution, or 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder at 500~800 times dilution, or 50% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder at 800~1000 times dilution. Spray once every 7~10 days, for 3~4 consecutive sprays.
3. Other Key Concerns
Slug moths such as the flattened eucthecta, brown-edged green slug moth, yellow slug moth, and beautiful green slug moth
In addition, slug moths such as the flattened eucthecta, brown-edged green slug moth, yellow slug moth, and beautiful green slug moth that harm flowering shrubs have already cocooned and overwintered in places such as plant branches, trunks, bark crevices, and soil layers. Maintenance staff can eliminate overwintering pest sources by manual removal, digging out, and smashing the cocoons.
Do a good job of garden pest and disease control measures, so that garden overwintering pests have nowhere to hide.
How to Grow Dahlia at Home? Home Cultivation and Management Tips for Dahlia
Dahlia, also known as dahlia, has very high ornamental value and a simple planting method. It can be planted in courtyards, gardens, and beside roads, and can also be potted. It is the best choice for novice flower growers. Now follow the editor to take a look at home cultivation and management tips for dahlia.
Below, the relevant questions about dahlia cultivation are introduced for everyone:
Habits:Originally growing wild on the highlands of Mexico at an altitude of 1500 M, it therefore likes a dry, cool environment with plenty of sunlight and good ventilation. It is not cold-tolerant, fears severe heat, and needs a period of low temperature each year for dormancy. The soil should preferably be sandy loam rich in humus and with good drainage. It is a spring-planted tuberous-rooted plant and a short-day plant. It sprouts and grows in spring; in late summer and early autumn, when the temperature gradually cools and daylight gradually shortens, it undergoes flower bud differentiation and blooms, until after frost in late autumn when the aboveground part withers and stops growing, and it enters dormancy in winter. Short-day conditions promote flower bud development, while long-day conditions promote branching and increase the number of flowers, but delay flower formation.
Propagation and cultivation:Generally, cutting and division propagation are the main methods; grafting and seed propagation can also be carried out.
Cutting propagation:It can be done all year round, but early spring cutting is best. From February to March, store the root clumps indoors in a greenhouse to force sprouts; when the new shoots grow to 6~7 cm and a pair of leaves at the base unfolds, peel them off for cutting. Alternatively, cut above a pair of leaves at the base of the new shoot, and when the axillary bud in the remaining pair of leaf axils grows to 6~7 cm with subsequent growth, it can again be cut for propagation. In this way, cutting can continue until May. For the cutting medium, sandy loam plus a small amount of leaf mold or peat soil is suitable. Keep the room temperature at 20~22°C during the day and 15~18°C at night; after 2 weeks they root and can be transplanted. Spring cuttings not only have a high survival rate, but after full growth through summer and autumn, they can bloom in the same year. From early June to August, buds can be taken from grown plants for summer cuttings, but the survival rate is not as good as spring cuttings. From September to October and in winter, cuttings can also be taken and cultivated in a greenhouse, but the survival rates are all inferior to spring cuttings and slightly higher than summer cuttings.
Division propagation:From March to April in spring, take out the stored tuberous roots and cut off each tuberous root together with the buds attached to the root crown (apply plant ash to the cut to prevent rot), then plant them separately. Tuberous roots without a root crown or without sprouting points on the root crown do not sprout and cannot be planted. If the sprouting points on the root crown are not obvious or difficult to identify, sprouts can be forced in advance in early spring; after sprouting, take them out and cut according to the above method. This method is simple and easy to carry out, with a high survival rate and robust plants, but the propagation coefficient is not as high as that of the cutting method.
Seed propagation:Seed propagation is mostly used for breeding new varieties and for dwarf-system flower bed varieties. Dahlia sets seed poorly in summer because of damp heat, so seeds are mostly collected from those that mature after the autumn cool, and among these the outer 2~3 whorls of tubular flowers set the fullest seeds; the closer to the center, the more difficult it is for the tubular flowers to set seed. Very few ray florets can set seed, so tubular flowers should be used as the female parent. Usually the stamens mature first. After the pollen is shed, the pistil rapidly elongates, so the stamens of the female parent's tubular flowers should be removed before they mature, and pollination carried out when the pistil matures. Because ray florets often remain on the receptacle after withering, and after rain they rot and affect seed setting of the tubular flowers, they should be completely removed before pollination. For flowers used as the male parent, they can first be cut and placed indoors in water; when the pollen matures, take it out and store it for later use. Pollination should preferably be carried out at 9~10 in the morning. After about 30 days, the seeds mature. If severe frost occurs before maturity, germination ability is lost, so they should be cut before frost and hung in a sunny, ventilated place to after-ripen. After the seeds are prepared, store them until sowing the following spring. They generally germinate in 7~10 days and can bloom in autumn of the same year; their growth vigor is stronger than that of cutting seedlings and division seedlings.
Pot cultivation:It is advisable to choose cutting seedlings, especially low-growing small and medium-flowered varieties; a few medium-tall varieties can also be used, preferably those with neat flower shapes. Watering potted dahlia should be strictly controlled to prevent excessive growth and root rot, following the principle of not watering until dry, and alternating dry and moist. For potted plants, after cutting off the aboveground stems and leaves, the original pot can be placed in storage.
Pest and disease control:The main diseases include root rot, caused by excessively wet soil, poor drainage, or excessively high air humidity. The control method is to avoid continuous cropping, disinfect the soil before planting, water and drain reasonably, and maintain good aeration; brown spot disease, which is prone to occur from late summer to early autumn due to rain and high air humidity. Affected plants are simultaneously harmed by red spider mites, causing brown spots on the leaves, and in severe cases can lead to plant death. The control methods are, first, promptly remove and burn diseased leaves; in addition, spray 0.5 degree Baumé lime-sulfur mixture on the leaf surface, or apply lime to the soil; mosaic disease, a viral disease transmitted by aphids or other pests. At the early stage of the disease, patterned markings grow on the leaves, and the veins and nearby areas become pale white-green, affecting the tuberous roots, causing poor development and affecting flowering. Therefore, attention should be paid in time to eliminating aphids and removing diseased branches and leaves to achieve the purpose of control; powdery mildew, when it occurs, small faded green spots appear on the back of the leaves, then become powdery white spots, causing the leaves of the whole plant to wither and the plant to die. Diseased leaves need to be removed in time, and lime-sulfur mixture or 800 times dilution of thiram can be sprayed on the leaf surface for control. The main pests include red spider mites; during dry periods, water can be sprayed on the leaf surface to prevent red spider mites from multiplying; aphids, spray 40% dimethoate at 1000~1500 times dilution and maintain ventilation to control aphid infestation; scarab beetles, which harm tender buds, tender leaves, and flowers. Chemical control is not very effective; the best is to catch and kill them in the early morning.
Purification function:It can effectively absorb hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, and has antibacterial and formaldehyde-removing effects.
Uses:Dahlia is one of the common flowers at home and abroad, with brilliant flower colors and extremely rich varieties, and a relatively wide range of applications. It is suitable for flower beds, flower borders, and clustered planting in front of courtyards; dwarf varieties are most suitable for potted ornamental viewing. The flower shape is beautiful and gorgeous, and the colors are magnificent and colorful, luxurious and noble. Placed at the entrance or on steps, it can create a gorgeous atmosphere; decorating the windowsill of a study or dining room with one or two pots of small varieties can bring people a good mood and a good appetite. Tall varieties are suitable for cut flowers and are ideal materials for making flower baskets, wreaths, and bouquets. The tuberous roots contain inulin, which has the effect of glucose in medicine. In addition, the tuberous roots also have the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, and reducing swelling.
Peony is one of our country's national flowers, with very high ornamental value, and the planting and management process is easy. The above are the relevant questions about dahlia cultivation compiled by the editor; everyone should quickly save them.