Just make sure that, if youre not already familiar with them, you learn to differentiate between red Soldier beetles (gardeners' friends) and red Lily Beetles 😠
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
As @Obelixx said earlier, she found one on the house. It might depend on your location though. I wouldn't expect to see those at this time of year here, for example.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I’m in a warm spot near the sea, south coast, so unless we get a really bad spell we find that it’s an early spring and then we get a blast from the east and it spoils all the cherry blossom. Valerie
I don't know whether there's anything in this but anyway....
I had virtually given up growing lilies because of beetle damage. The last bulbs I had were dug out and relegated to some hideous black plastic pots before being hidden away behind the shed, thinking I would probably discard them at some point.
Nov 2019 there was a rat in one of the the compost bins and I needed something to weigh down the lids to stop further access. I used the 2 pots of lily bulbs. Same thing happened winter 2020/21.
It was noticeable that the 'about to be discarded' lily bulbs subsequently flourished and there was not a single beetle (or any beetle damage) in the summers of either 2020 or 2021.
Made me wonder if lily beetles are a bit like carrot fly and don't fly above a certain height. These pots were about 1.2m off the ground from Nov to May in both years. The bulbs are in an inadequate volume of garden soil in the pots, have never been fed, watered or in any way nurtured but they did incredibly well - especially last year.
They are weighing down the bin lids again this winter - we'll see what the summer brings...
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
I don't know about that @Topbird, but it would be quite difficult to grow them at height in a garden, unless it's on a balcony or similar. However, I had far more damage on the red ones I have, as opposed to the whites. The whites are taller, and many are in a raised bed Perhaps we need to do a study
I'm not sure I understand your post @valerieroberts, but if there are beetles now, I doubt it would make any difference if you then get some colder weather. The eggs would have been laid, and the damage done. That's why you need to break the cycle and dispatch the beetles as soon as you see any, and the same with any grubs.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It was more that they'd been over-wintered off the ground @Fairygirl.
As I said these pots were about 4 feet off the ground from Nov to May and no sign of beetles the next year. Even when the pots were placed in the border to provide a splash of colour in June the beetles didn't find them.
Made me wonder if there's something in the lifecycle that happens at ground level between Nov and May which is why these pots escaped beetle attention.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Ah - yes I see what you mean. Definitely need to do a study. I don't think I've got any in pots to try though. I'll need to have a look, but I don't know if I'll get any this year anyway, because I dispatched the few that appeared last year.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sorry about not been clear @Fairygirl . I was thinking that our warm area is good for all the wildlife in the untidy areas, but the downside is that at some point we usually get a cold blast that is bad for the early blossom we get. @Topbird I love lilies and it sounds as though you have something there. Maybe I will find enough energy to transplant a couple to pots and put them on the compost bin roof. Valerie
Posts
I wouldn't waste time in getting rid of any of those you see @valerieroberts - they'll quickly get a hold, and can devastate lilies very quickly.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
As @Obelixx said earlier, she found one on the house. It might depend on your location though. I wouldn't expect to see those at this time of year here, for example.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I had virtually given up growing lilies because of beetle damage. The last bulbs I had were dug out and relegated to some hideous black plastic pots before being hidden away behind the shed, thinking I would probably discard them at some point.
Nov 2019 there was a rat in one of the the compost bins and I needed something to weigh down the lids to stop further access. I used the 2 pots of lily bulbs. Same thing happened winter 2020/21.
It was noticeable that the 'about to be discarded' lily bulbs subsequently flourished and there was not a single beetle (or any beetle damage) in the summers of either 2020 or 2021.
Made me wonder if lily beetles are a bit like carrot fly and don't fly above a certain height. These pots were about 1.2m off the ground from Nov to May in both years. The bulbs are in an inadequate volume of garden soil in the pots, have never been fed, watered or in any way nurtured but they did incredibly well - especially last year.
They are weighing down the bin lids again this winter - we'll see what the summer brings...
However, I had far more damage on the red ones I have, as opposed to the whites. The whites are taller, and many are in a raised bed
Perhaps we need to do a study
I'm not sure I understand your post @valerieroberts, but if there are beetles now, I doubt it would make any difference if you then get some colder weather. The eggs would have been laid, and the damage done. That's why you need to break the cycle and dispatch the beetles as soon as you see any, and the same with any grubs.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
As I said these pots were about 4 feet off the ground from Nov to May and no sign of beetles the next year. Even when the pots were placed in the border to provide a splash of colour in June the beetles didn't find them.
Made me wonder if there's something in the lifecycle that happens at ground level between Nov and May which is why these pots escaped beetle attention.
I'll need to have a look, but I don't know if I'll get any this year anyway, because I dispatched the few that appeared last year.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...