Greenfly tips

Hi I've been trying to keep an eye on our roses and noticed there's plenty of greenfly on them, so last year I used aldi washing up liquid and water, but I noticed the leaves seem to dry up or die.

As daft as this may sound what do people use to combat greenfly? I'm thinking maybe an eco washing up liquid would be better.

 

I view greenfly as the food for the predator insects that will keep them under control. There are predatory wasps, hover flies, ladybirds and other nice things to see in the garden that will feed on aphids and greenfly so I generally just leave it up to nature to take care of green fly numbers when they start to grow. I have read advice from other gardeners that a spray of just water from a hose can be used to wash the greenfly off and another option if you have the time is just to squash them between your fingers and thumb. You can get genuine green fingers using this method.

Happy gardening!

 

I had a terrible time with aphids on one of my plum trees last year. The leaves were so crumpled and distorted, it looked like a Savoy cabbage. The problem was that the ladybirds were late so there was nothing to keep the aphids in check. By May, I ended up buying some ladybirds and larvae because they were a no show. The Csar plum was a write off but the Victoria and the green gage got away with only minimal damage. I've already seen ladybirds out and about so I shall be leaving the aphids in their hands. They make pretty short work of them.

 

The greenflies from my rose were gone a day after I noticed them.
While sitting on the bench, a group of finches, sparrows and tits came, one shook the plant, and the others picked up the greenflies.
If you don't have such predators, as Macraignil says, water is enough if they stay longer than a few days.

 

You can use neem oil, insecticidal soaps, garden centres and DIY stores will have a range of various sprays for the problem. Whatever you use follow the instructions.

 

I only use water too, but usually a wipe with a hand is enough if there's a sudden infestation.
I don't get a lot of greenfly, and it's usually only on the new growth of sweet peas which also coincides with blue tits feeding young.
That's by far the best method, so attracting birds, and various types of other predator, is a great way to help keep them under control.

 

I have seen a few dotted around the garden, I did pick one up yesterday and put it on the rose, as there was alot of food on there for it so. It's still there


We've only had roses for under a year so still finding our feet with them, maybe I out too much washing up liquid in the spray bottle, the leaves don't look great after.

 

If I use detergent to dislodge aphids I use a plain shower gel or hand wash -without moisturizers.
Due to their purpose, dish-washing detergents contain lots of other harsh chemicals.
For 1L of spray just 3 or 4 drops of detergent are needed, just enough to break the 'skin' (surface tension) that plain tap water has.

Insecticidal soap is probably a better alternative.

 

I know this won’t be so helpful, but I’ve learned to grit my teeth and leave them. The more you leave on, the more likely they will attract predators, and roses will generally come through unfazed whatever you do (or don’t do).

Also less work for us as gardeners

 

These days I tend to leave them, if it's bad then a strong hosing with the water pipe usually does the trick. At least the knocked off flies can be eaten from the floor. A young cherry tree nearly succumbed to an infestation in late summer, it got an early pruning with the infested branches left in a corner of the garden. Also a few lupins looked like the an infestation was terminal, they got the same treatment as the cherry despite there being a good colony of ladybirds on them, they've sprung back and are doing really well at the moment. Basically a strong jet of water and a pruning worked for me, leaving infected branches in a corner of the garden.

 

Another vote for leaving them alone from me. The birds and predator insects soon move in. It may take a little while initially, but a natural balance between welcome and unwelcome visitors should develop.

 

I leave nature to deal with aphids too.
Almost every year my runner beans get covered in blackfly but the cavalry always arrives to deal with them before the beans are ready.
My many roses also get them but they cause little damage and eventually the ladybirds arrive to clean them up.

On rare occasions if one of my dahlias gets a bad infestation I'll sometimes use a pyrethrum spray, but only as it's getting dark and if spraying them off doesn't work - which is usually because there's an ant nest very close by.