CASUALTIES AMONG SWEET WILLIAMS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 139, 13 June 1936, Page 13

CASUALTIES AMONG SWEET WILLIAMS

Jl is no uncommon thing for what is apparently a perfectly healthy clump of sweet Williams suddenly to be stricken down. The plants simply wilt and die. lat is the cause? You ran suspect those wretched pests the leather jackets. Ike fat, drab-eoloured grubs have a special liking for sweet Williams.’and they gnaw- through the stems just beneath the soil surface. If ln , of our clumps suddenly go off, then lift tae plants and search in the soil around t he roots and the ground from which the plants were lifted. You will probably find some of the grubs; deal with them effectually. Should the leather•ri'jkets be numerous, plant the sweet IVllhams somewhere else for the time being, making certain that you do not carry any of the pests to the new posi- | ti.xi. treat the vacated soil with nat.hthalcne. This will kill the grubs, and next season you will be able to grow (sweet Williams on that soil again. A | similar happening often occurs with anemones, but in this case it is best to apply the naphthalene alongside the plant, but not actually touching the leaves, as the green plants cannot be lifted out and replanted without retarding them.