Dephiniums
ogster
Posts: 88
Hello fellow garden enthusiasts. This is a quick one, my dephiniums last year bloomed brilliantly. However this year they seem to be getting eaten from the start of the growing season. I have believed it was ants, and so tried a google answer! Of putting cayene pepper around the bottom and rice. This seems to of not worked as now the flowers arent getting to full bloom before being eaten. Also whatever it is is eating through the stem also, any idea's?
0
Posts
Slugs and snails. To them delphiniums are caviar. Slug pellets. or copper tape. around the base, or grit. or hand pick the slugs off every night, or slug pubs.
If they are growng well but the flowers are being eaten before blooming, check for caterpillars of the delphinium moth. They wrap a leaf or two around themselves for protection which is how to spot them. If you find any, squash them between the leaves they are hiding in. To prevent them next year, cut the plants right down to the ground at the end of the year as the larvae overwinter inside the hollow dead stems.
Is it worth cutting them down to the ground now?
Ants do not eat plants-it is slugs or snails-always is
Get a copper pipe from a builders yard or hardware shop, cut it into 1 inch sections and pull the leaves through the copper rings. I have the same problem. I have some in rings and some not. The ones in the rings are great, the others have been munched beyond all hope.