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Help - Lavender Plug Pests

Lisa111Lisa111 Posts: 8
edited July 2018 in Problem solving
Hi

I bought a large amout of Lavender Hidcote/Munstead plugs from Thompson & Morgan a month ago and noticed when I was opening them that a small fly was in the packaging and thought nothing of it.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago the fly population has grown so I did some research and realised they resembled Scariad flies. 

I tried the yellow sticky cards but only a couple were caught and I also cut down on watering and only watered from the bottom when they were almost dry.

Also bought some food grade Diatomaceous earth but the flies are still going strong!

Today after checking them I was horrified to see a large maggot like insect near the surface of one of the cells which am assuming is the Larvae but cant see anymore.

Has anyone advice what I should do?

Have heard about using Hydrogen Peroxide but not sure.

Most of the plants are doing well but about four are very leggy which is near where I saw the maggot like creature and a couple in each tray have gone brown and died down.

Have attached a couple of pics to show a snapshot of the plants current state.

Thanks in advance









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Posts

  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    Maybe I'm out of touch with how companies describe plants, but I would not class this as 'plug' but more like young cuttings.

    I don't recommend buying at this time of year for plants like Lavender. They don't travel well. If you want them now, it's best to buy larger sized plants. A few of those look like they will be struggling to recover. The shrivelled ones need cutting down now. The rotting material will cause issues for the rest of the plant.

    The plants need good air circulation now since it's very hot, they can be left outside. That may help with the flies. I'm sure this is due to over watering and kept in a stuffy environment. Water from the bottom for now and re-pot soon. 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    edited July 2018
    Did they arrive with a kind of tea bag wrapped around them? if so you need to remove that and put in individual 3” pots. 
    If you need more they are very easily grown from seeds, mine sown in March are bigger than those already. T & M not always the best company to buy from.
    theres a thread on here about them. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Sue BestwickSue Bestwick Posts: 32
    I agree seed is dead easy sow in a nice gritty mix put in coolest bit of greenhouse and don't over water you will have more plants than you know what to do with good luck
  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    Did you just take them into the kitchen to photograph them? or have you always kept them indoors? I would put them outside in a shady area, remove any obvious dying bits, cut back the tall spindly ones a bit and keep them moist to see if they recover. All of them look very soft as though they have been struggling with low light ie indoors. 
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • Lisa111Lisa111 Posts: 8
    Lyn said:
    Did they arrive with a kind of tea bag wrapped around them? if so you need to remove that and put in individual 3” pots. 
    If you need more they are very easily grown from seeds, mine sown in March are bigger than those already. T & M not always the best company to buy from.
    theres a thread on here about them. 

    Lyn said:
    Did they arrive with a kind of tea bag wrapped around them? if so you need to remove that and put in individual 3” pots. 
    If you need more they are very easily grown from seeds, mine sown in March are bigger than those already. T & M not always the best company to buy from.
    theres a thread on here about them. 

    Hi Lyn

    There was nothing around the plugs on arrival.

    They were like this...
    I did have a look into seeds so might try that once these are established 😁

  • Lisa111Lisa111 Posts: 8
    Borderline said:
    Maybe I'm out of touch with how companies describe plants, but I would not class this as 'plug' but more like young cuttings.

    I don't recommend buying at this time of year for plants like Lavender. They don't travel well. If you want them now, it's best to buy larger sized plants. A few of those look like they will be struggling to recover. The shrivelled ones need cutting down now. The rotting material will cause issues for the rest of the plant.

    The plants need good air circulation now since it's very hot, they can be left outside. That may help with the flies. I'm sure this is due to over watering and kept in a stuffy environment. Water from the bottom for now and re-pot soon. 
    Thank you 😁 I have since seen some lovely looking well established Hidcotes in Tesco for £3 but because I needed a lot I thought I'd try the offer out from T&M. Will see how they go. 
  • Lisa111Lisa111 Posts: 8
    hogweed said:
    Did you just take them into the kitchen to photograph them? or have you always kept them indoors? I would put them outside in a shady area, remove any obvious dying bits, cut back the tall spindly ones a bit and keep them moist to see if they recover. All of them look very soft as though they have been struggling with low light ie indoors. 
    Hi They have been on a large windowsill in spare bedroom with windows open but did think about placing them outside. I took into kitchen to water and take pics although need some proper gravel trays to make it easier. 

    I think I was concerned about outdoor pests although not sure if slugs would go for Lavender and don't have space for a greenhouse but with this weather there's not too many about anyway so will give it a go.
    Thanks for advice 😁
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I put mine out after I had put them in pots, I’ve never know any pests on them. I’ve got established ones from a few years before but never anything on them.
    I would pot those into proper pots and put outside as soon as you can. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    They definitely need to go outside or they will get drawn. Put somewhere shady for the next few weeks and keep moist and see how they go. If they are a total bust, the best way to buy a lot of lavender plants is to buy them bare rooted between November and March. Much cheaper than potted plants and a decent size too. They can then be planted straight into the garden. I assume you are thinking of growing a lavender hedge?
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • Lisa111Lisa111 Posts: 8
    hogweed said:
    They definitely need to go outside or they will get drawn. Put somewhere shady for the next few weeks and keep moist and see how they go. If they are a total bust, the best way to buy a lot of lavender plants is to buy them bare rooted between November and March. Much cheaper than potted plants and a decent size too. They can then be planted straight into the garden. I assume you are thinking of growing a lavender hedge?
    Hi yes I was hoping to create a path hedge.
    Will see how they get on outdide. Will they need to be bought back in over winter and planted out in Spring? 
    At least I've got time to see how they go and if they don't survive I'll look at bare rooted.

    Many thanks
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