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Nemotodes for vine weevil grubs

CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 617
in Plants
Hello can you buy these nematodes in the garden centres or should I do an online purchase. I found lots in a pot that sedums in that were still starting to grow ok surprisingly!
Should I also be watering them into the beds too if I have found them in the pot.  Do they attack skimmias too?  I only discovered them when I tipped the pot of spent compost into the compost bin, will that be a problem for me now?  Many thanks

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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited March 2019
    Buy them online. They’re not usually available at garden centres as they have to be stored in chilled conditions and have a very short ‘shelf life’. 

    For that reason don’t order them until conditions are suitable and you have the time to apply them. 

    Make sure you you have a watering can rose with quite large holes or they’ll clog it up and not pass through. 

    Ive not used them
    in pots but I think some folk here have done. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I have used them in pots and they do work, can’t remember now when to apply, I know it’s twice a year, October is a good time to catch the grubs if any have slipped through, they’ll busily munch away on your overwintered plants.

    I think mid April may be a good time for the 1st application.
    i wouldn’t use them on garden plants, far too expensive, I just pull out anything like heuceras that get affect and pot up decent bits for replanting. 
    Usually larger shrubs can cope with a bit of chewing. 

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Our shrubs on the Shady Bank were being decimated when we moved here ... we bit the bullet and treated the whole bank before planting anything else ... that was in 2012 and we only needed to reapply nematodes last year ... well worth the money for us 👍 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Pleased they worked on your bank Dove, I didn’t have many last year, just a few in the strawberry plants, usually by the end of the season they’ve had the fuchsias in baskets, I put it down to the hot dry weather. 

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 617
    Thanks for your replies Dove and Lyn.  I will order some next week.  Guessing I can just water straight from the can without a rose on it (just very carefully) and make sure I get the soil rather that the foliage?  Many thanks
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    That would be a terrible waste,  they’re not cheap.  Try to get a rose from somewhere,GH or Wilco sell a cheap one.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Good timing with original post, l have found a few vine weevil grubs in various pots that have overwintered in the coldframes. I'm also potting up clematis and have new hellebores l want to keep safe. Didn't realise online was the way to go, thanks for that @Dovefromabove. Good news with the timing of when to apply too @Lyn, l was wondering about that.
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    I have used nematodes both on ground and for the pots in fact I would say you need them more on the pots as potted plants seem more vulnerable. Well  worth the cost. I agree about the rose you can by the rubberised universal fit ones quite cheaply.
    AB Still learning

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Nematodes have arrived and l am going to apply to the pots tomorrow. I was wondering, l am hoping to apply some seaweed based plant feed to the potted plants, does anyone know how long l should wait before feeding, or if l need to wait at all? I can't seem to find any information about this. Many thanks  :)
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Just in case anyone was wondering  :), l contacted the suppliers and they say it is okay to feed after applying. 
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