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Pyrethrum - bad for wildlife?

Robert WestRobert West Posts: 241
in Plants
Hello,

I bought a couple of plants on a bit of a whim the other day, one of which is a pyrethrum. I'd never heard of it but I liked the size it said it will grow to and the fact that it likes to be dry (try and only buy plants that don't need constant watering these days). Anyway, I was reading up on them and it said that they contain insecticide and can be used to protect vegetables etc. 

Silly question maybe, but if I plant it in my garden will I be killing insects Inc. pollinators? I was actually hoping to help them with my newest border, not kill the poor things! 

Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Pyrethrum plants can be used to make a "tea" which can then be used as an insecticide, just as nettles can make a nitrogen rich tea and comfrey a good one for tomato and other fruiting plants.

    The RHS lists James Kelway and Robinson's Red as being good for pollinators so I wouldn't worry about your plants being dangerous.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @Robert West I can remember as a child nearly every garden had a pyrethrum growing in it. Probably purchased from Woolworths which was where most people bought plants. I wouldn't have a problem with growing them at all. 
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Robert WestRobert West Posts: 241
    Thank you for the replies. I assumed that a flowering plant wouldn't kill the pollinators that actually pollinate it but thought it was odd that it could be used as an insecticide. Maybe it's just the sap or something that kills aphids? 
  • WAMSWAMS Posts: 1,960
     Glad to know this isn't a real danger. I just sowed a packetful of these for 2023!
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    I understand that Achillea is a good plant to grow as it aids the other plants around it. We still know very little about what we grow in our gardens and how it might help science and medicine in the future .Plant Heritage do some marvellous work to protect our plants including some that may be seen as not really garden worthy.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • borgadrborgadr Posts: 718
    I would have thought the insecticide was more of a deterrent than a trap.  Nicotiana is the same - nicotine is a natural pesticide, part of the plant's defence (and also occurs in  smaller concentrations in tomatoes and aubergines) but I haven't read of any of these being harmful to wildlife. 
    I say this not as an expert..  maybe one will come along soon!
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    Laural is cyanogenic and so the list goes on. Put one gloves when handling plants is the best bet.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
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