Green fingered help

[Gav]

Next question:
We seem to be infested with these bugs.
They're about 1/4 long, black & orange, 6 legs and no sense of self-preservation (I poked them repeatedly and they don't move).
They seem to be all over 1 side of the shed and a bit of nearby fence, although I've found them on the new decking too.

Any idea what they are and if they're doing any harm?

[Double Trouble]

I think I've found something similar. It says it's a ladybug larvae. Is that right?

I'm ashamed I have to ask, with my background in pest control.

[Stuart]

I find that the Gardening Section of the BBC website is a mine of information, and there will usually be someone on the messageboards there who will able to help you out (someone there answered my query about my beetroot plants).

[jivecat]

Next question:
We seem to be infested with these bugs.
They're about 1/4 long, black & orange, 6 legs and no sense of self-preservation (I poked them repeatedly and they don't move).
They seem to be all over 1 side of the shed and a bit of nearby fence, although I've found them on the new decking too.

Any idea what they are and if they're doing any harm?

I think you are OK, that is a ladybird larva.
Don't kill them, you will need them later to help eat the greenfly and blackfly.

If you see anything plain bright red (lily beetle) or rounded and dusty brown (vine weevil) kill them on sight.

[Gav]

Wow, I never knew there was such a thing!
It seems that all the crusty, dead-looking larvae attached to the shed and fence are the pupa and will very soon be adult ladybirds.
You learn something new all the time!

The ladybirds life cycle goes through 4 stages:


1) EGG - The eggs are bright yellow, less than 1mm long, and are laid on the underside of leaves. They hatch in about a week.


2) LARVA - This is its ugly stage. This period lasts about three weeks to a month, and in that time it will probably consume about 400 to 500 plant lice!

3) PUPA - Often called a chrysalis. The larva dissolves into a soup ready to be reconstructed into its adult form. This process takes about a week.


4) ADULT - Often called the imago. When it emerges from the pupa it is fully grown, and will remain in this form until it dies.

[Double Trouble]

Don't kill them, you will need them later to help eat the greenfly and blackfly.

Kill them? I'm not exaggerating here...there are thousands and thousands of them, all over the shed in various forms of development. We couldn't kill them all if we tried.

Oh well...at least we are now assured they are harmless and our greenfly should be practically non existent if this lot hang around.

[philsmove]

Wow, I never knew there was such a thing!

Isn’t this forum brilliant just when you get fed with wondering if its ok to refuse a dance, this pops up

[jivecat]

The larva dissolves into a soup ready to be reconstructed into its adult form.

There's a sci-fi/horror movie contained in one single sentence. You couldn't make this stuff up.

[Lost Leader]

Wait till the lady birds start "biting" - they do it with their knees

Seriously - you don't need to worry, Ladybirds are the gardener's friend. The bit about the biting is true though, but it normally only happens when you get huge numbers of them and they are short of food.....oh, you did say there were lots of them.....best go inside and lock all the doors and windows then.

[Little Monkey]

Anyone know anything about rhubarb?? I've got rhubarb in my garden, and it's been fantastic for years (lots of it, nice thick juicy stalks), but this year it's hardly growing at all..... More compost? Rhubarb food??

I want rhubarb crumble!!

[Jennifer]

Anyone know anything about rhubarb?? I've got rhubarb in my garden, and it's been fantastic for years (lots of it, nice thick juicy stalks), but this year it's hardly growing at all..... More compost? Rhubarb food??

I want rhubarb crumble!!

Off the top of my head - you might need to divide your crowns if it's been in for years. I think it would be too far into growing season to do it now though.

[Little Monkey]

Off the top of my head - you might need to divide your crowns if it's been in for years. I think it would be too far into growing season to do it now though.

Yes, I read something about that somewhere. Apparently it has to be done in spring, though, before it starts growing. Oh well, no rhubarb this year.

[HelenB]

Yes, I read something about that somewhere. Apparently it has to be done in spring, though, before it starts growing. Oh well, no rhubarb this year.

Yeah, I'd go with Jennifer about dividing the crown (checked here and it mentions doing it in December)

Also, when you mulch it (which you should), don't get any of the mulch on the crown as it can lead to rot and then you'll definitely have no rhubarb

And, although it's SO tempting, don't pick too much off a new plant for the first year or so (and don't force it during this time) - you need to let the plant build up it's energy for plentiful crops in years to come (and don't pick too late into the year as well for the same reason)

You should have said you were in a rhubarb crisis - I could have brought you some at Southport like I did for LemonCake! (though carrying it into the blues room was a bit weird)

[Astro]

Wow, I never knew there was such a thing!
It seems that all the crusty, dead-looking larvae attached to the shed and fence are the pupa and will very soon be adult ladybirds.
You learn something new all the time!

The ladybirds life cycle goes through 4 stages:


1) EGG - The eggs are bright yellow, less than 1mm long, and are laid on the underside of leaves. They hatch in about a week.


2) LARVA - This is its ugly stage. This period lasts about three weeks to a month, and in that time it will probably consume about 400 to 500 plant lice!

3) PUPA - Often called a chrysalis. The larva dissolves into a soup ready to be reconstructed into its adult form. This process takes about a week.


4) ADULT - Often called the imago. When it emerges from the pupa it is fully grown, and will remain in this form until it dies.

I've got them, only a few though.
Wondered what they were.

Lady birds are lucky if one lands on you (adult)

[Juju]

Can't pretend to be an expert on Orchids really but:

1. Orchid roots must be exposed to a bit of light. That is why they are now normally sold in transparent plastic pots. However there can be a problem if you then put the plastic pot inside a more decorative pot which blocks out all the light.

2. They don't like strong sunlight - a north facing window is a good position.

3. They don't like to be above a central heating radiator.

4. The special compost they are planted in (looks like bits of bark) is incredibly free draining so it is all to easy to leave them standing in water after you have watered them which is very bad for them. Best way to avoid this is to stand the post on some gravel or small stones. This will also help to create a humid atmosphere which they like as long as the roots are not standing in water.

5. Don't use normal house plant food. You need special orchid food but you only need to use very small amounts.

With modern varieties it is possible to get them to flower again but you have to be quite careful. The most common reasons for flowers or buds dropping off are too dry an atmosphere, too much sunlight, or over-watering. They also don't like temperature fluctuations or draughts but most are surprisingly tolerant of a coolish temperature. Once they have flowered do not cut off the long flowering stem as new flowering shoots will often develop from this. They can flower twice a year.

Did all of that but still managed to kill three in a row.

[Little Monkey]

Yeah, I'd go with Jennifer about dividing the crown (checked here and it mentions doing it in December)

Also, when you mulch it (which you should), don't get any of the mulch on the crown as it can lead to rot and then you'll definitely have no rhubarb

And, although it's SO tempting, don't pick too much off a new plant for the first year or so (and don't force it during this time) - you need to let the plant build up it's energy for plentiful crops in years to come (and don't pick too late into the year as well for the same reason)

You should have said you were in a rhubarb crisis - I could have brought you some at Southport like I did for LemonCake! (though carrying it into the blues room was a bit weird)

Thanks,

Well, the rhubarb is definitely well established - it's been there for at least 10 years. It's been very good all the years I've lived here (6), and it's not until this year it's dwindled. Will try to divide the crowns this winter....

[ShinyWeeStar]

Thanks,

Well, the rhubarb is definitely well established - it's been there for at least 10 years. It's been very good all the years I've lived here (6), and it's not until this year it's dwindled. Will try to divide the crowns this winter....

I was speaking to my mum about this as we've had rhubarb in our garden for as long as I can remember. Her recommendation was to divide the crowns once the season's over, which seems to be the general consensus.

In the meantime she suggests giving it a good feed, just with normal plant food, as it may be that the ground is now lacking in nutrients. Our plants certainly used to thrive when the compost heap was next to them, but there's been noticeably less rhubarb since the compost was moved.

[Astro]

I was speaking to my mum about this as we've had rhubarb in our garden for as long as I can remember. Her recommendation was to divide the crowns once the season's over, which seems to be the general consensus.

In the meantime she suggests giving it a good feed, just with normal plant food, as it may be that the ground is now lacking in nutrients. Our plants certainly used to thrive when the compost heap was next to them, but there's been noticeably less rhubarb since the compost was moved.

I didn't realise rhubarb was a vegetable, but it is.

When I was a kid, my uncle used to put a uptuned metal dustbin over his rhubarb. Think it had holes in. It was supposed to help it grow.

[HelenB]

I didn't realise rhubarb was a vegetable, but it is.

When I was a kid, my uncle used to put a uptuned metal dustbin over his rhubarb. Think it had holes in. It was supposed to help it grow.

Ah, he would have been forcing it..

Means you get tender tasty pink stems early in the season

[jivecat]

I didn't realise rhubarb was a vegetable, but it is.

It is not a fruit in the sense that it is not the part of the plant that produces seeds.

When I was a kid, my uncle used to put a uptuned metal dustbin over his rhubarb. Think it had holes in. It was supposed to help it grow.

It doesn't help it to grow but makes the stems grow taller, paler and supposedly more tender by excluding the light. Might also produce an earlier crop by keeping the crowns warmer. I don't know that many people bother with this practice any more. Has anyone tried adding sweet cicely (herb) to rhubarb as it is supposed to make it sweeter without the need for so much sugar?