What causes butterfly bushes to die?
gardenfanatic2003
15 years ago
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bullthistle
15 years agoRelated Discussions
what causes new growth to turn brown and die?
Comments (6)About rose midge - This insect is less than 1/8 of an inch long; it lays eggs on new growth and under the sepals of buds. They hatch and feed on the new growth causing it to turn brown and die. Buds don't develop. In about a week the midge falls to the ground and emerge from cocoons as adults to start the cycle all over. There won't be many blooms in a garden with midge as most of the buds will be destroyed. The first sign of a midge infestation is a tiny crisp, burnt like piece of foliage at the tip of new growth. Also, the very top leaf is usually distorted. Here's a link to Baldo's site on rose midge with some pictures. It is an old page as it mentions diazinon as a treatment, which has been banned, but the pictures are helpful. Oregon State Univ also has a good page with pictures and more up to date treatments- http://oregonstate.edu/dept/nurspest/rose_midge.htm A friend of mine has rose midge; she didn't want to use a chemical control so destroyed most of her roses hoping to replant in a couple of years. the cultural controls she tried didn't work for her. Also, there have been some discussions on rose midge here as a number of people have dealt with it. If you search you can find old threads discussing it. Disclaimer: I know the above only by reading, I've not seen it myself. I've also read pesticide burn can look like rose midge, but that's probably not a problem in your garden? Gean Here is a link that might be useful: Baldo Villegas, rose midge pictures...See MoreIs there something causing my butterflies to die?
Comments (11)If you want to limit the number of mantids in your garden next year, look for their egg cases. They are very distinctive. I find mine on the sides of the house, on my red wood trellises, etc. At first I didn't know what these were, and I kept finding lots of them. Now I know, and I'm going to start trying to "limit" the number of mantids for the garden. Praying mantids are cannabalistic when they hatch. Though you can get up to several hundred hatchlings from one case, usually only a few survive the feeding frenzy. So save at least one case that you can locate. They are considered beneficials - except when it comes to caterpillars and butterflies. I find them in either different stages of growth, or different species, I don't know for sure how many species there are. Scroll down the page I linked to for you, and you can see a photo of the egg case. The ones I have are very hard shelled and I'll probably have to smash them with a hammer or something. They kind of remind me of a petrified caterpillar, and in color from tan to brown to reddish brown. These are the ones I find in my yard anyway. Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Praying Mantids Egg case...See MoreDieing Butterfly Bush
Comments (20)I just loved reading all the messages (though several years old) regarding your unhappy butterfly bushes. I bought a beautiful specimen 3 seasons ago (don't remember the variety); the first year, small growth, no flower; second year 2 spindly branches about 15 in high, each with a lovely purple blossom..bees, butterflies..well they seemed to ignore it! Last Fall I transplanted it to a different spot, more morning and late afternoon sun. I cut back last year's small growth this spring..checking this morning it has 6 new branches growing, all of them are between 2 & 3 inches; one is about 6 or 7 inches!..at this rate, since it is July 5 (short growing season in Zone 4), I wonder if it will have any blossoms this year. The area where I planted it is considerably rocky under the surface...hard to dig holes for planting in my front yard..have unearthed some wonderful large rocks over the years!..also some traveling tree roots have to be dealt with. Soooooo, I wonder if the ground is too challenging for it to grow in more vigorously. Or, maybe it's just too young to do much else. I did fertilize last week with a liquid organic seaweed fertilizer. Perhaps I should either move it or be patient...I do have an area on the other side of the front yard with sandy soil...so much easier to dig, but the house blocks the sun there from about 11 am on..it gets good light but not direct sun in the afternoon. I would love someone to make some suggestions...Thanks for your help!.....See MoreWhat are these? They are killing my Butterfly Bush
Comments (8)Interesting looking little things. The 'eggs' that kimmsr is seeing are strangely invisible to me, but some of the critters almost look weevil-like. And then I remembered that we're seeing insects of different sizes and colors...which seems to indicate (to some of us) several stages of one of the true-bugs. And then I remembered something about Largus Bugs. The nymphs sure to resemble what you've shown us, though we do need better images (as Jean says). Attached is a picture of one of the nymphal stages of a Largus bug. Other instars (earlier or later) will have some red or orange on the bodies. Here is a link that might be useful:...See Moretommyr_gw Zone 6
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