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Greenfly - In January!!!
Jonesk
Posts: 205
Oh dear,
I was out (in the rain!) doing a spot of garden tidying today, I was clearing some of the dead growth from around my lupins (of which some are still partly green from last year with lots of new growth at the base) when I found one absolutely riddled with greenfly!!! Some pretty large as well.
I try my best to garden naturally but my mother in laws lupins were decimated by greenfly last year, not sure if I should just hope the frosts will kill them off or to give them a spray!!
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Posts
Very large aphids which are slightly on the grey side and found on Lupins could be American Lupin aphids. We had to give up growing these plants because we never could get rid of the pests and the plants did not thrive. We don't spray either, but I think in this case I would use an eco-friendly insecticide, say something like a plant based horticultural soft soap.
I'd wear rubber gloves and rub them off. I'd enjoy squishing the devils
Berghill I only grew lupins once and they were covered in them so I don't bother any more
I'd cut them back to the ground - any top growth visible now is unlikely to survive the winter anyway and may well be harbouring other pests/diseases. I also have had to give up growing lupins due to American lupin aphid.
The fight is on .....
Found another Lupin completely infested again today. The weather is so mild the Lupins keep sprouting new leaves and the greenfly seem not to mind the cold! I read that the lupin aphids overwinter in the basal buds. Had not seen them last year - infact I'd not seen them at all until January!!
Although I hate chemical pest control apparently not much eats them naturally so I'm going to start spraying now when it will cause the least damage to pollinating insects etc and will hopefully keep things in control enough to get them to flowering stage this year.
Anyone else had this fight? Any recommendations?
Use Neem oil which is organic
Yes, they are a pain. I generally remove them by hand but you have to keep doing it. Slugs are a bigger problem with my lupins and some years I just give up on them!