Bulbmeister.COM - Discussions

[kmirvin]

I had minor trouble with aphids attacking the growing tips on some of my Fritillaria imperialis this season. The only place I really suffered for it was with my one bulb of F. imperialis 'Inodora', an odor free variety.

I did not do anything about it this season (yet). If I do anything about it, I will use a product with Neem Oil in it. You need to provide full coverage to the plant (upper and under leaves, etc.), but this is also a good product for fungus control (powdery mildew, black spot, etc.).

[hennessy]

Fritillarias are not prone to insect disease really. The one one thing to look out for is that fiery red Lily beetle. Not only will the beetles nibble on the leaves (not a real pain) but they will lay eggs that turn into awful slimey larvae that will eat most of your precious Fritillarias. To make things worse those larvae will become beetles that will attack your lily plants this summer the same way. Best thing to do is to catch the beetles by hand. Hold your hand under the beetle, shake the plant a bit and the beetle will let itself fall down. Catch them in your hand (they won't bite) and just crush them with your nails or with your feet. Once the eggs are hatched and the larvae are actually there, there is no chemical that can kill them, the slime they are covered with will protect them. So be one step ahead.
Martin Philippo, Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands

[Gaby]

We had some problem with snails and couldn't get rid of them. Of course we didn't want to use any chemicals so we approached a local florist and asked him for some advice. He came up with the suggestion to stomp some egg shells and put them around the flowers and the snails wouldn't make it and he was right. I just wanted to share that information because it really helped us.
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