Latest news with #aphids
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Ask the head gardener: My buddleia is diseased – can I save it?
Dear Tom, I have several buddleia plants in my garden, some big, and they are all exhibiting signs of being diseased. Crinkly, mottled leaves and flower spikes failing to develop. I am in west Cornwall but a friend in east Devon mentioned that she had a similar problem. Any advice much appreciated! – Liz Dear Liz, Your question is really timely for me. As I sat out in my garden the other evening, enjoying the relatively cool temperatures with a glass of something even cooler, I noticed that a couple of my buddleia were showing the same symptoms. I have experienced unusually high numbers of pests at West Dean this year, exacerbated by the warm, dry spring. This was clarified with a visit from a local fruit group who described an unusually successful year for aphids on fruit trees too. A plant's response to an insect attack will involve a degree of leaf curl – although there may be no insects visible, that doesn't mean that your plant has not been got at. Over the past few years, more and more gardeners are reporting issues with distorted, curled leaves that appear to be virused on their buddleias, and in severe cases, flowers are aborted. From its research and high numbers of member enquiries, the RHS has concluded that the culprit is most likely to be the melon-cotton aphid. Originally thought to be an issue for plants that grow in greenhouses, the distribution of these aphids in gardens is causing some excitement among entomologists at the RHS, so much so that they'd like us to report any damage with photographs to a survey found on this link. When it comes to tackling this issue, the good news is that buddleia is repeat flowering, so by pruning out the worst of the damage at the extremities of the stems, you'll promote fresh growth and flowers in a few weeks' time. These sap-sucking pests will have weakened the plant, so a handful of Growmore or fish, blood and bone around the feeder roots (not the base of the trunk) and a thorough watering will help to encourage that new growth. I have always considered buddleia to be bombproof garden shrubs, with very few pest and disease issues. I would hope that this pest does not change my opinion over the coming years, but my advice would be to stay vigilant. Once you have removed the damaged growth, and fed and watered the shrub, spray the new growth with SB Plant Invigorator, which is soap-based. Spray the new growth only, no need to spray the entire plant, as the aphids are more likely to be found on the soft growth at the tips; do this once a week as a preventative until the end of September and continue to do so as new growth emerges next spring. You may simply remove the damaged growth and hope that the new shoots are not affected; I appreciate that this new level of commitment to your buddleia might not be for everyone. Encouraging more aphid predators into your garden will also help to lessen the damage in future years: ladybirds, earwigs and birds will all help to control numbers. A few blue tit boxes around the garden will not only give you great pleasure but also help to maintain more of a balance.
The Sun
14-06-2025
- General
- The Sun
I'm a gardening pro – my easy steps – including a £2.25 Dunelm trick – will banish garden pests like aphids this summer
WE may well be seeing lower slug and snail numbers this summer thanks to colder weather in winter and the recent dry spells. But mother nature never makes it easy for us. Instead - of course - there's a new pest in town. 2 Aphid levels have rocketed this year - and the RHS reckons it's top of the list of gardening queries to their hotline. There's over 500 different species found in the UK - and can be red, yellow, black, green, brown or pink. They feed by sucking sap from plants - and can cause severe damage - including distorted growth, sooty mould and plant viruses - and sometimes plant death. Chelsea award winning gardener Adam Woolcott - and Webb ambassador - gave Sun Gardening some top tips on how to tackle the most common early summer pests. APHIDS Physically remove the aphids from the stems and leaves. Use natural insecticidal soaps. Blast off with water jets. Encourage predators such as ladybirds, lacewings, and hoverflies VINE WEEVIL Both the adult vine weevil beetles and their larvae cause damage. Adults — all female — chew distinctive 'U-shaped' notches in leaves, particularly on evergreen shrubs like rhododendrons, escallonias, and viburnums. Underground: larvae feed on plant roots and can kill container plants like Heucheras. Remove adults at night when they're most active Break the life cycle with biological controls such as nematodes (apply in spring and autumn when grubs are active) Chemical treatments are a last resort, but offer longer-term control LILY BEETLE The bright red beetles and their larvae are both covered in their excrement. They can strip a plant in days, affecting flowering and bulb health. Remove beetles by hand where practical Encourage wildlife into the garden. Birds and ground beetles will eat the larvae Grow a resistant variety. Tolerate some damage if you can — total eradication isn't always necessary. CATERPILLARS Especially troublesome in veg patches. Cabbage white butterfly caterpillars love brassicas, while box tree caterpillars are spreading rapidly across the UK, stripping foliage as they go. Remove the caterpillars by hand if you can and destroy any badly affected plants (if practical) to stop the infestation from spreading. Use biological sprays like nematodes. In some cases, hot water and a mild detergent can help. Ecover is on sale at Dunelm for £2.45. As a last resort, chemical controls can be effective Also in Veronica's Column this week... Top tips, Gardening news, and a competition to win a £250 lawnmower NEWS KING Charles made a surprise visit to Windsor Flower Show last Saturday. Celebrities including Alex Jones and Kirsty Gallacher were at the one-day show - which had wonderful village fair vibes, vegetable and cake competitions and fantastic floral displays. TOP TIP JUNE is actually a good time to take Hydrangea cuttings - and get your own plants for free. They'll have produced some soft green growth - which is what you want. Choose healthy, non flowering shoots that are 10-15cm long and cut just below the node (the leaf joint). Don't collect cuttings from plants with leaves that are turning brown. And try to collect in the morning if you can. Remove the lower leaves - leaving just one or two at the top. Then dip the end in rooting powder or gel - then pop it straight in a pot. You could splash out on seeding and cutting compost - but multi purpose will do - just add a bit of grit or perlite. Then keep them out of direct sunlight and keep moist. They should have rooted within about a month. NEWS A RARE 'sheep-eating' South American plant has flowered in an English primary school for the first time. The Puya Chilensis, with its iconic spike pattern, is normally found in the Andes in Chile. But after it was planted 10 years ago by school horticulturalist Louise Moreton, it has sent out a 10ft spike at Wicor Primary School in Portchester, Hants. It's called a Sheep Catcher as it would normally entangle wildlife, hold onto it - and then when the animal died - would take the nutrients. Ms Moreton said it was exciting but a worrying sign of global warming. WIN! Keep your lawn looking its best this summer by winning a Webb Classic Self Propelled Petrol Lawn Mower worth £249.99. To enter visit or write to Sun Webb competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. July 5, 2025. T&Cs apply. TOP TIP IF you want to get more flowers from your sedums (now called Hylotelephiums) and prevent them from collapsing - pinch them out around now. Pinch off around four sets of leaves down - which will make them bushier. JOB OF THE WEEK Weeds thrive this month - keep on top of them by hoeing. Tie in sweet peas, and give your plants a good feed - liquid seaweed feed is great - and Tomorite works with nearly everything. Give agapanthus a high-potash feed every couple of weeks. For more top tips and gardening news, follow me @biros_and_bloom
The Independent
12-06-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Why there are so many aphids this year, and what to do about them
A surge in aphids is being observed in gardens across the UK. Warm spring weather has facilitated rapid aphid colony growth, with some species previously confined to glasshouses now appearing outdoors. Dr. Stephanie Bird from RHS notes that while aphid populations are expected this time of year, their numbers have increased, with 2025 being dubbed 'the year of the aphid'. Aphids can cause distorted plant growth and leave sticky excretions, but they are unlikely to kill established plants, and the RHS advises tolerating them where possible. Gardeners are advised to avoid pesticides, which harm biodiversity, and instead use methods like squashing colonies by hand or planting pollinator-friendly plants to encourage natural aphid predators.
The Independent
10-06-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
These sap-sucking insects are rife in UK gardens. Here's how to combat them
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) predicted a surge in sap-sucking aphids following a mild spring. And it was right - it has been a phenomenon evident in gardens across the country. Over the past few weeks, greenfly have been seen wrapping the stems and buds of various flowering perennials and roses. Blackfly have also made their mark, leaving trails on clematis plants. The reason? A warm spring facilitated rapid and early colony growth, leading to a proliferation of aphids on acers, roses, and honeysuckle. Furthermore, certain aphid species, previously confined to glasshouses, are now venturing into outdoor spaces, seeking new plant hosts in beds and borders. 'This is the time of year when you'd expect to see more aphids. Aphids will overwinter or there will be eggs which will hatch out and then populations build up,' says Dr Stephanie Bird, RHS senior plant health scientist. While last year, the slug population exploded in the warm, wet weather, 2025 is the year of the aphid, the RHS has reported, and the number of inquiries it has received up to May about these tiny sap-sucking insects has risen. 'A lot of the aphids we have on our garden plants will have a different summer host that they'll start moving to, and this is the point in the year when predators haven't actually started controlling populations,' says Bird. We have more than 500 species of aphid in the UK, in shades of red, yellow, black, green, brown or pink, some of which feed on specific plants, others which will suck the sap out of a wide host range. They are weather-dependent Weather will affect populations, as aphids will thrive in a warm, dry spring and summer. 'Aphids' life cycles are temperature dependent, and the slightly warmer weather means they they are able to reproduce and build up their numbers slightly quicker,' she explains. And warmer winters lead to earlier activity, she adds. Aphids don't need a partner to reproduce 'They don't need to find a partner and can reproduce asexually. It's a bit like Russian dolls. Inside one aphid there is another aphid and inside that aphid there's another one,' says Bird. Their populations can bloom rapidly. How much damage can aphids do? Many plants tolerate their feeding with no ill effects, but colonies can cause a lack of plant vigour, distorted growth and they often leave a coating of their sticky excretions called honeydew on which sooty moulds can grow. Some aphids also transmit plant viruses. 'They're unlikely to kill plants, especially established ones,' says Bird. 'For instance, if you've a cherry tree which has distorted leaves which are black and sticky, and is covered in cherry black aphids, you will still get cherries off that tree.' Nor should they kill general garden plants – they just make them look unsightly, she adds. Who are their natural enemies? Parasitoid organisms such as wasp larvae develop inside the aphids and eventually kill them. Other predators include birds, predatory midges, earwigs, ladybirds and their larvae, lacewing larvae and hoverfly larvae. 'Hoverflies are beneficial pollinating insects and their larvae feed on aphids,' says Bird. 'Having aphids in your garden is part of the natural garden ecosystem. You need these kinds of insects to feed things higher up in the food chain,' she adds. Hayley Jones, principal entomologist at the RHS, continues: 'Understanding how they can be managed through simple planting choices or encouragement of natural predators will help minimise damage and potential plant losses while maintaining a healthy garden ecosystem.' How can you deter them? The RHS advises gardeners to tolerate them where possible, but if you can't, use your finger and thumb to squash colonies and check plants frequently before the damage has developed. Don't use pesticides, it says, because they reduce biodiversity, including natural enemies, and impact soil health. Encourage natural enemies of aphids into your garden by planting pollinator-friendly plants. Aphids are attracted to many plants. Some are specific to which plant they will invade, such as rose aphids. Others will inhabit many different plants. 'They generally inhabit the same sorts of places, so you'll find them a lot of the time on the undersides of leaves, but they also like the developing softer tissues around flowers and buds,' says Bird. You won't notice aphids on plants such as ornamental grasses and ferns, Bird points out.
The Sun
09-06-2025
- Health
- The Sun
5p hack gardeners swear by to get rid of black fly that's plaguing your plants this summer & it works overnight
WITH warmer weather on the horizon, intrepid gardeners might be struggling with the infestation of bugs it could bring. As aphids (greenfly or blackfly) threaten to damage your garden, there is a 5p hack that gardeners swear by to tackle the problem. 2 2 The UK is home to nearly 500 species of aphids - a tiny sap-sucking bug that visits during the warmer months. These hungry bugs vary in colour from green and black to include yellow, brown, and orange - ranging in size from one to seven millimetres long. While they are particularly prevalent in the summer, they can survive year round in warmer environments like greenhouses and conservatories. Different species are drawn to different plants meaning if you have one infestation, it might not spread to the rest of your plants. Having small numbers of aphids is not necessarily a bad thing - they are a vital part of the ecosystem - however large numbers of the bug could weaken and prevent growth in younger plants. Weakened plants might need to be destroyed if infected with a virus - shown by mottled, streaked or distorted foliage, and weak growth - to prevent it spreading. It can also cause wider problems with the 'honeydew' they leave behind. This sticky substance can become infested with black mould, preventing the plant from photosynthesising and restricting its growth. Gardeners are advised to regularly check their plants for aphids, particularly under the leaves, and for signs of honeydew. Predators like birds might help tackle a small infestation, or hand-squashing might be a cheap solution. However, some gardeners swear by a cheap and easy alternative to get rid of the pests - dishwasher liquid. Green thumbs can mix their dishwasher liquid with water before spraying it onto the plants. This homemade alternative provides a cheap way to get rid of the infestation, without the need for harmful insecticides. Gardeners are encouraged to use eco detergents and a very weak solution to prevent wider ecological damage. If you don't want to make a spray at home, you can also buy organic, chemical-fee sprays which are made with plant extracts, plant oils and soft soap. These have fewer harmful consequences for the wider environment. To use these sprays, aim directly at the aphids and re-apply somewhat frequently. Those looking for a more immediate solution might turn to insecticide, but it is important to bear in mind that this risks killing other insects that could help with plant growth. If bees and butterflies access the insecticide through the flowers, it could kill them as well as the targeted aphids. Insecticide run off could also enter the soil which risks harming bugs and further disrupting your garden's ecosystem. According to Gardeners World: "We recommend letting nature take its course: let birds, ladybirds and hoverflies control aphids unless there is a huge infestation and then remove them by hand or with an organic spray. "There should be no need to ever use chemical insecticides in the garden."
