Just an update, i do believe the infestation is either a rosemary beetle in larvae form or some people reckon a spidermite although i dont think they start as caterpillars! Even so the whole Rosemary has been dieing for ages from the bottom up, so it has had its final resting place in the recycling green waste bin! Ive also found it on my potted thyme, and potted Bay tree, just to let people know!
Sorry to hear that your Rosemary died in the end. Maybe you could nip off the bits on the thyme and bay tree if they look like some larvae is inside and see if they recover?
I'm so sorry that's really rotten Ogster, I had rosemary beetle a few years ago and they managed to kill big healthy well established rosemary shrubs. They moved onto the lavender where I still find them from time to time - they can leave it looking a bit scabby but obviously don't love it as much as the rosemary. You can actually spot them quite easily - they are silvery gold striped depending on how the light hits them, sometimes even with a bit of colour, they are actually quite pretty and I had seen them around for months before I realised the devastation they were causing. When you try to catch them they drop quickly to the ground and land upside down and it's impossible to spot them in the soil. Sometimes I go out with a bowl and manage to knock a few into that and get rid of them. I have tried re-introducing rosemary but they seek it out and it's doomed very quickly.
I tried to find an old BBC thread where I had posted photos of both the beetle and my poor rosemaries but I didn't manage to. But for anyone who wants to see a photo there are plenty on google. I tried to attach a link to an RHS article but it was four lines long (the link, not the article)
I've had a few of those little grubs on the tips of my rosemary - I think I've found them all and nipped them out - google reveals that the larvae of the Rosemary Beetle is striped like the adults, so I don't think it's them, thank goodness
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
morning all ,in Falmouth Cornwall just off the high street there is a council garden with a wall 20 feet high overlooking the road to the Sea view pub that has Rosemary 30 feet long and hanging down over the wall about 12 feet all the way along the entire wall,just stunning, cant walk passed without a stroke and a sniff ,Wonderful.
Dove, were your grubs little green caterpillars all wrapped up in the tips of the leaves? I have these in my rosemary, blueberries and pea shoots. I've nipped them off and the plants seem much better for it. Never had a problem before I moved here, but I think it's a tiny moth, not the dreaded Rosemary Beetle.
Dove, were your grubs little green caterpillars all wrapped up in the tips of the leaves? I have these in my rosemary, blueberries and pea shoots. I've nipped them off and the plants seem much better for it. Never had a problem before I moved here, but I think it's a tiny moth, not the dreaded Rosemary Beetle.
Yes, those sound like the ones I had on the rosemary.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Posts
Just an update, i do believe the infestation is either a rosemary beetle in larvae form or some people reckon a spidermite although i dont think they start as caterpillars! Even so the whole Rosemary has been dieing for ages from the bottom up, so it has had its final resting place in the recycling green waste bin! Ive also found it on my potted thyme, and potted Bay tree, just to let people know!
Sorry to hear that your Rosemary died in the end. Maybe you could nip off the bits on the thyme and bay tree if they look like some larvae is inside and see if they recover?
Doing so meerkat, just wanted to let people know as it may be affecting others this year,
Good idea, had a good look at mine and they all seem ok so far. Good luck with thyme and bay tree.
I'm so sorry that's really rotten Ogster, I had rosemary beetle a few years ago and they managed to kill big healthy well established rosemary shrubs. They moved onto the lavender where I still find them from time to time - they can leave it looking a bit scabby but obviously don't love it as much as the rosemary. You can actually spot them quite easily - they are silvery gold striped depending on how the light hits them, sometimes even with a bit of colour, they are actually quite pretty and I had seen them around for months before I realised the devastation they were causing. When you try to catch them they drop quickly to the ground and land upside down and it's impossible to spot them in the soil. Sometimes I go out with a bowl and manage to knock a few into that and get rid of them. I have tried re-introducing rosemary but they seek it out and it's doomed very quickly.
I tried to find an old BBC thread where I had posted photos of both the beetle and my poor rosemaries but I didn't manage to. But for anyone who wants to see a photo there are plenty on google. I tried to attach a link to an RHS article but it was four lines long (the link, not the article)
I've had a few of those little grubs on the tips of my rosemary - I think I've found them all and nipped them out - google reveals that the larvae of the Rosemary Beetle is striped like the adults, so I don't think it's them, thank goodness
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
morning all ,in Falmouth Cornwall just off the high street there is a council garden with a wall 20 feet high overlooking the road to the Sea view pub that has Rosemary 30 feet long and hanging down over the wall about 12 feet all the way along the entire wall,just stunning, cant walk passed without a stroke and a sniff ,Wonderful.
Dove, were your grubs little green caterpillars all wrapped up in the tips of the leaves? I have these in my rosemary, blueberries and pea shoots. I've nipped them off and the plants seem much better for it. Never had a problem before I moved here, but I think it's a tiny moth, not the dreaded Rosemary Beetle.
Yes, those sound like the ones I had on the rosemary.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.