CYCLAMEN PESTS

Press, Volume C, Issue 29517, 19 May 1961, Page 7

CYCLAMEN PESTS

Vine Weevil The Worst

Many a deserving mother will have been presented with a flowering cyclamen last week-end, which is now being carefully tended. The cyclamen is a deservedly popular plant, for it is a most cheering sight, and in general is not too difficult to look after. Handled with care it can be carried over for several years, and I once knew a 14-year-old grand-daddy that had been successfully carried over with no more complex apparatus than the kitchen window! Cyclamen pests are few. The worst is the vine weevil, whose grubs can be most damaging in their effects. The vine weevil is a little brown weevil about half an inch long, and which feeds on a variety of plants. It ’ays its eggs in the soil, and these hatch into curved white grub* which feed on the roots of any suitable plant in the vicinity. The adult weevil is very active, running about inside glasshouses, looking into pots, laying eggs here and there so that the attack can be quite widespread in the crop in the house. The effects do not show up until damage is almost beyond repair. Then the cyclamen leaves wilt and look miserable, because the grubs have eaten off most of the roots, and the plant is suffering from lack of water. In fact the damage looks just like drought. If the plant has been damaged too much nothing can be done, for the whole corm will lift clean off the surface of the soil, leaves and all Frequently, however, you can catch a plant in time by noticing those tell-tale wilting symptoms. Mix a little D.D.T. with the top soil in the pot. and then water-in lightly. The grubs will be quicklv killed as a result.

The second cyclamen pest is much bigger, has two legs and carries a large watering can! Don't drown plants’ More plants are killed by over-watering than from other causes. Give water when it Is needed, and .t Uns end of the season, mg a moderately warm room and an actively growing Plant, it should not be necessary more than every other day Your plant will tell you quickly enough if you are underwatering

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