Hi Arbo retum, 2 years ago I got so sick of the Lily Leaf beetle I ripped up all the lilies and threw them on the compost pile. But I couldn't resist taking some of the gorgeous Lilies that Ontheteam brought to the swap last weekend, that were leftover from the Children's Hospital plant sale! The beetles haven't shown up yet, and I have not heard of the vinegar solution, but did hear that you could take a cigarette, and crumble up the tobacco and spread it around the base of the plant. So I bummed a couple cigarettes from a friend, and did so. Since tobacco is an insecticide and the larvae pupate in the soil, perhaps this will work? I figure this will be reasonably safe for beneficial insects. I have organic gardens, and will not spray pesticides. I am curious if the vinegar spray works!

I always use 3% hydrogen peroxide right out of the bottle in plant rot emergencies. Any fleshy root, rhizome, bulb, succulent, etc. can handle it full strength no problem (in my personal experience) It's an insecticide for soil dwelling pests in larval form that feed on root systems. It instantly aerates and loosens compacted soil that won't drain. It's totally safe and organic (you can put it in your mouth, it is an oral debriding agent afterall). It'll foam up on the plant just like it does when used to treat scrapes and cuts on skin. The more rot, the more it foams. If treating a plant in a container, the soil level will even rise like dough because the reaction's byproduct is oxygen and water. Once the foaming subsides, I give a splash of fresh water to wash any residue away. Let the wound dry and callus before watering again or replanting.

Stilwelljill, it's one of my favorite books and the one I turn to most often. The kind of really really good book you will always be glad you bought - I can't begin to tell you how much I've learned from it. I have his Passion for Gardening too, but Making More Plants is one of the best I've seen for all kinds of propagating, not just sowing, and so well illustrated it's hard to make a mistake. Try Amazon, or Ebay for a nice copy at less than full price.

We lived in Georgia when I was eight years old. Had a cool creek that ran through the backyard that my friends and I spent lots of time in, catching crawdads and throwing lily pads at each other. The first week of May I got horribly sick with what the docs guessed was an allergy. I couldn't breathe, even though I've never had asthma. My face turned very red and swelled to the point that I couldn't see. My hands swelled so much that they actually cracked and clear liquid ran from the cracks. It lasted for several days and then disappeared as suddenly as it came on. The following year it was back -- again in the first part of May. It was worse the second time and I ended up in the hospital, on oxygen and being pumped full of antihistamines. After asking tons of questions about anything new in my environment, the doctor finally told my mother that he believed I was deathly allergic to something that only bloomed during that time of year. His suggestion, besides documenting everything that I'd recently come into contact with, was to be GONE from the area well before the following May. Needless to say, we moved up North, and there were no more episodes until I went to an Easter Sunday service where the church was filled with blooming LILIES. The uncontrollable coughing started before we were even seated. Within five minutes I was having trouble breathing and freaking out. Mystery solved. I got out of there like my pants were on fire and my butt was catching! Nowadays I don't go to Easter services, or weddings, or funerals. I steer clear of the floral department in garden centers and grocery stores. No more lilies for me. For the record, I don't think I'm allergic to ALL types of lilies, but I have no plans to test that theory.