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Borage and Ants

ElizabethJadeElizabethJade Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Help! My borage is covered with ants and it's ruining my plant! The leaves are nearly all gone from yellowing / browning!

The bees love it, and I love the flowers so I don't want to get rid of it but the ants won't leave it alone! 

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's not the ants which are causing the yellowing. They're most likely to be feeding on the honeydew secretions from aphids. The aphids will be sucking the sap from the foliage.
    if you give it a good soaking, that will help get rid of some of the greenfly - and the ants will also move on as they don't let very wet conditions.  :)

    A photo would help though, in case there's another problem   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ElizabethJadeElizabethJade Posts: 3
    Hi Fairygirl

    Thank you for you comments. I have taken some photos of the plant. 

    I have trimmed back some of the dying leaves to encourage new ones, hence its looking a little bare! 

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's possibly struggling a bit in that pot - they're not great in pots. It would be better planted out, and it will then be able to access all the moisture it needs, and that will also make it easier to support itself, especially in rough weather.  :)
    Other than that, it's fine. It's quite normal for older foliage to look tatty as a plant grows - especially when it puts on a lot of new growth in spring/early summer. 

    Ants like dry conditions, so if you can give it a good watering every couple of days [if you don't have some persistent rain] that will help move them on.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ElizabethJadeElizabethJade Posts: 3
    Thank you so much!!! 
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