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ants on my sedums

graigrai Posts: 78
in The potting shed
Can I ignore these? or are they damaging the plant

I grew this from a cutting for the bees so I do not want to lose it to bloody ants!
thanks for any info
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Posts

  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    The ants won't do any harm but those aphids will ;)
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • graigrai Posts: 78
    edited July 2019
    the green is the buds of the sedum not aphids
    but the ants appear to be laying eggs on the stalks
  • madpenguinmadpenguin Posts: 2,543
    grai said:
    the green is the buds of the sedum not aphids
    but the ants appear to be laying eggs on the stalks
    As far as I know ants don't lay eggs on plants but in their underground nests.
    If you look carefully I think you can just see some blackfly which are what the ants are after!
    “Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    The ants are not laying eggs, but carrying and placing baby aphids in the areas with freshest growth.  Commonly known as 'ants farming aphids':

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • graigrai Posts: 78
    shall i brush them off or just leave them?
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Is the plant in a pot or in the ground? If you can convince the ants to go elsewhere then hopefully something will be able to come along and eat the aphids.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • graigrai Posts: 78
    It's in a pot
    There aren't any aphids except for the ones the ants seem to have brought
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They farm aphids for their honeydew secretions, grai. The plant will be fine, but you could give it a scoosh from the hose which will help move them on, as they dislike wet conditions. That'll get rid of the aphids too. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • graigrai Posts: 78
    I'm going to start washing them off
    My sedums are for the bees and were really hard to propagate from cuttings so I'm super paranoid!
    Thanks everyone xx
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    If they're in pots then I'd wait until the ants have gone to bed and then wash the aphids off and move them somewhere else to stop the ants putting their aphids back. There's more to a wildlife friendly garden than just flowers for bees though. Aphids and ants are just as important in the grand scheme of things so don't dismiss them as pests so easily.

    What kind of sedum are they by the way? They're normally very easy to grow from cuttings.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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