Imagine my puzzlement when I glanced at one of my two spireas and saw empty branches. This was a plant that was flushing out with its reddish amber to golden leaves just a couple days ago. The leaves around the tips were completely intact but some of the stems were nearly naked. What caused this damage? Aphids!
What do Aphids do to Plants?
These nasty little green insects in the picture above were clumping all over the spirea’s stems devouring the leaves. Aphids enjoy sucking on the plant juices that come from fresh leaves and stems. As they eat they secrete a substance known as honeydew. It’s such a nice sounding word for something that comes as a waste product from an insect. The honeydew then can attract a mold to further destroy your plant. Aphids can also introduce harmful diseases to your plants. You can see that even though they are small little creatures they are big pests.
Aphids Have a Weird Reproductive Cycle
What is crazy about aphids is their reproductive cycle. The little green girls in the above picture (and girls they are, nymphs) are hatched from eggs that are laid in the fall. In spring when they hatch the aphids become stem mothers and produce more females which will continue to reproduce more offspring. In the fall when the days are shorter and the temperatures are cooler the aphids will produce young with both females and males. The aphids mate and lay eggs then the cycle begins again.
How do You Treat Aphids?
What can you do about aphids? Insecticidal soap works well. I’ve used it many times on our lemon trees (in pots, they aren’t hardy for Tennessee winters) and it usually takes care of them. A blast from a garden hose will knock them off your plants or you can rely on natural predators like lady bugs and lacewings who like to munch on aphids. You could go with a variety of pesticides but insecticidal soap will do the job fine and it is more ecologically friendly than most pesticides.
We didn’t plant this little spirea but we like it since it kind of regrew from nothing in the aftermath of the previous occupants of our home. Before we bought the house the front garden was stripped of everything that was there except for the nandina and apparently our little friend who sprung up out of nowhere. Although I suspect this little spirea is really a ‘Magic Carpet’ spirea (Spirea japonica) I would be tempted to rename it the Phoenix since it regrew from nothing. Now with our help this phoenix will rise again!
Be on the watch for these pests on new growth. If you suddenly notice leaves dropping or stem damage look a little closer and you may find what’s bugging you!
Here is some good information on the little buggers from the Virginia Cooperative Extension.
The Corner Shade Garden in Mid-April
Behind the location of our future arbor lies the Corner Shade Garden. I planted this garden last year with hostas, heucheras, and assorted other plants after the removal of a sinister privet bush. Privet has become an invasive problem here in Tennessee and I just didn’t like it in this corner next to our house. In its place went an…
Propagating ‘Shasta’ Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum) from Cuttings
I have many favorite plants (as all gardeners can attest to) but I am really a big fan of viburnums. Many viburnums have showy flowers in the spring, leafy green foliage throughout the growing season, and great fall color. Some are evergreen, many provide food for the birds in the form of berries, and they are definitely fun to grow!…
How to Propagate Holly Trees and Shrubs
It is pretty exciting to see a new holly cutting coming to life! This holly cutting is probably the Buford holly (Ilex cornuta) which is a popular one in the home landscape. We actually have four of them left out in out front area off the porch that came with the house. One other holly met an early demise courtesy…
How Tall Should a Raised Bed Be? (5 More Raised Bed Design Tips)
Have you ever wondered exactly how tall a raised bed should be? Here’s the answer: 11 and 5/16ths. Yep that’s right, 11 and 5/16ths. Of course not! The real answer is that the height of a raised bed is dependent on a number of factors which makes each situation different. Today’s Friday Fives post is another raised bed design post…
Bulbs, Corms, and Rhizomes to Plant in Fall
It’s almost that time of year again: Fall Planting Season! When the weather cools off, the days become shorter, Pumpkin Spice is everywhere (OK that may not be the greatest thing), and it will be time to get your fall bulbs and rhizomes planted in the ground. Planting these plants in the fall allows their root systems to acclimate over…
Dave in the Garden of Benign Neglect
As you might guess from the title I paid a visit yesterday to a fellow garden blogger’s garden to visit none other than Clay and Limestone’s Gail. She invited me up to collect a tree for our garden that she didn’t have a home for after her patio area remodel. The tree was a serviceberry. A great tree to add…
Discover more from Growing The Home Garden
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Yes, those little boogers can be so bad. I have them on some calla lillies too. They love the fresh new growth. Hope you get rid of them.
Destructive little beasts! Thanks for the tips.
I haven’t had too many problems with them, luckily. Thanks for the tips!
I really get the creeps from the little soft bodies but was compelled to keep reading. Glad you won the battle! They love my rose The Fairy and I hose them off each year.
Gail
Looks like magic carpet to me. We have tons of it, it roots like crazy wherever a branch touches the ground so I have spread it hither and yon. It will grow in any condition sun, shade, wet or dry. I will have to run out to look for those little bad girls on mine.
Hi Dave .. aren’t you on my deck ? LOL
Aphids .. YES … every year I am in a battle with those little so and so’s .. Gold Mock Orange is one of their favorites .. and yes .. Spirea, I have a few .. I took out my Honeysuckle because it was just too much to handle with them … ugh ! I use the jet stream to wash them off and let the natural preditors have lunch on me !
Joy
Thanks for the info! Aphids can cause a lot of damage. They have been difficult to eradicate on my daylily plants because they bury themselves deep inside the fans and are hard to eliminate completely. I did find a good homemade recipe that works fairly effectively with detergent, oil, and water.
I had them on a shrimp plant one time! Got sticky stuff all over my furniture! arggg
Aphids are my nemesis. It seems like nothing keeps them away for very long. They absolutely cover the new growth of the Van Houtte spiraeas here in the spring.
Tina,
From what I’ve read they tend to stick with one type of plant at a time. They may like your calla lilies but they shouldn’t spread to other plants in your garden just calla lilies. Strange behavior for strange creatures!
Nancy and Karen,
Your welcome, they certainly are a pain!
Gail,
I haven’t won the battle just yet but I will in the end! I checked them this morning and most of them have died but I sprayed again in case I missed any.
Frances,
Thanks for the second opinion on the spirea! I propagated a couple last fall but neglect took them. Sometimes you just forget about stuff! Definitely check for them on yours you don’t want them to get too established!
Joy,
I decided to move south! Too much snow up there. 😉 I’m sure the lady bugs (beetles) enjoyed your feast!
Chey,
I can definitely see where that would make them difficult to get rid of. They are so small they can get into those crevices really easily. Do you use equal proportions for your recipe? This would probably be a lot of trouble, but if you divide your day lilies have a bucket of your mixture on hand and dip the entire lily before you replant. That may help!
Skeeter,
You have experienced the honeydew effect! Icky stuff isn’t it?