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Dianthus
Rosemary Dinning
Posts: 13
Does anyone know what eats holes at the base of the buds in dianthus? It happens on all varieties (singles, doubles, even carnation size) and the bud is left hollow, with occasionally one or two petals struggling to show. I have never found any bugs or beasties in the hollowed out buds.
0
Posts
Don't think so, but thanks for the suggestion. There is just a tiny round hole at the base of the flower bud, as if something has bored its way in and then eaten the flower from the inside. "My" snails just graze stuff off level with the soil!
Probably a caterpillar, like that of the Tortrix moth:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=860