Fuchsia Gall Mite
Steve Worthing
Posts: 42
Hello,
Anyone had any dealings with Gall mite on fuchsias. I think this is effecting all my fuchsia plants. Reading up about it, there are no pesticides or nematodes that can deal with it. The only possible chance is if the plants get below 5c in winter which might kill the mite which also may kill the plant as they are semi hardy. But the only other option is to burn them and start again . But seeing as all my plants have it i thought i may as well prune a couple back to see if that helps and wait till winter. I have used a general pesticide on them.
Anyone had any luck with treating it? thank you
http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/plants/fuchsia/pest-disease.php
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Posts
Don't think there's much you can do Steve. I'd buy new next year and hopefully they'll be free of them. There are some good fuchsia nurseries about. They'll be easy to replace.
Buying new Fuchsias is not the answer as the gall mite problem is all around this area and spending money on new plants is an exercise in futility and an expensive one at that. The cold frosts in the winter do, to a certain degree, kill off the infection, but it has now started to re-emerge again, so I have been cutting back infected branches.
My daughter, who has read biological sciences, said that drenching with a very soapy mixture, might be the answer. I was also thinking of watering just one plant with Jeyes Fluid to see if that had a significant effect.
Westlands Rose Bug killer, is supposed to work, but they said it is not guaranteed.
Last edited: 22 August 2017 16:04:20
If your plant is is quite mature, prune it back a bit more for the winter time. Allow the frost to get to it if you can, as it's the best thing for it. Also, remove the top layer of your soil after you have removed all the dead leaves in autumn and lay a fresh layer over the base. Do not compost anything from that area.
Thank you very much for your advice, I will indeed do that this autumn, as I am loath to destroy Fuchsias that were planted over 40 - 50 years ago and well established. Most are younger, but the size they are now makes them irreplaceable. Many thanks.
Last edited: 23 August 2017 08:21:05