Pests, Diseases and Cures

Thanks, all, for your replies. The rhody has revived very well on its own, it seems. The advice to hang fire appears to have been sound. Thanks once again, everyone.

About 2-3 mm long 1mm wide, like a very very small tablet

I tend to reckon anyone who understands the double entendre is already corrupted, and anyone who isn't won't get the joke unless someone else explains it, at which point it's their fault.

I'd have thought that that particular branch had been dead for a year or so, looking at it. There are a couple of snags on it which could have caused it to die back , after which the fungus could have got in.

Just make sure birds cant get trapped in there.

Have a google for an emperor moth cocoon @karaman

Okay, thanks very much for the suggestions. I’ll try the milk spray since that’s an easy one and may be look to adjust the soil composition before replanting

I kind of think it probably is a light/ sun problem, lavender in particular needs heat and sun to do well. As to the Chrysanth, maybe the wrong type for pot growing? Those more ball types are good for containers, plus a bit more feeding, it looks a bit starved.Stick with it, we all have lots...

For years a Toad has lived top of this garden, about 20 mtrs away. I made a hole between the roots of a large tree stump, with two old housebricks to climb on... if it rains too much. Recently a young one sits under the kitchen window, under a piece of plywood which catches the late afternoon...

Looks like insect attack, laburnum often looks a bit tatty at the end of the season, well mine does.

While several pesticides are available to kill earwigs, they are not required, and you can control them without toxic and potentially hazardous chemicals.Insert a shallow, clean can -- such as a cat food or tuna can -- into the ground so the lip of the can is even with the soil level. Fill the...

Thanks Verdun ... [another late reply .. soz - not getting here much these days .. life getting in the way ... lol]. I didn't really understand the mulch concept per se actually but you've explained it for this particular problem I had and I've now read up on it too so understand it more.

Great news ... NO feeding only water , and have a think about insulation for the pot over winter.... these jobs never end .... thanks for letting us all know ...

Hi all, Thank you all for the responses and @pete , thank you for the files. I took samples to the garden centre and left embarrassingly convinced that they were indeed old flowers. I'll put it down to a learning experience. I didn't realise that the flowers and buds came and went so quickly....

Hi Mike. I think you could be right about close confinement as this year I planted geums around the base and everything looks a bit crowded. The magellanica name sounds familiar.

Looks like sunscorch to me as well, specially if the leaves in direct contact with the sun are suffering and the other leaves -deeper inside the shrub- remain dark green.Make sure that it is getting morning sun (say until 10-11am) and afternoon and evening shade; dappled sun; or bright full...

Moisture. Watering. Get in there and cut away all sickly whimp growth. Don't feed.

In June 2019, the 25-year-old plant first suffered failures on a few branches: the leaves of individual branches died completely within a few days and dried up on the tree. The cross-section of the wood shows no discolorations that could indicate a fungal infection. The rest of the tree is...

Creepy crawlies are part of gardening, I think we all have ones we dislike, but ants do no real damage to the plants intentionally.They loosen the soil around roots, and they "farm" aphids, but they do not attack plants in general.I doubt whatever you used in the garden would actually wipe...

Wow. knock wood, never got that on mine.