Well it's been such a strange year, and any trees defoliated completely in August and then started new growth, some of which is still green. Apparently the aphids have also decided to get another life cycle in: I was checking buds on some A. velutinum seedlings, they were completely covered with large aphids. Very squishable. This young Acer 'Kuroi jishi' didn't defoliate, but it did have some late growth which is still green. I looked at it yesterday and it was crawling. I managed to crush the aphids on the leaves, but as you see the buds are encrusted with small bugs or eggs, too small to tell for me. I tried some fairly high pressure water, but they didn't come off. What's the best procedure? I guess the graft is 3 years old, but still small though healthy, I'm reluctant to risk damaging the stems with pesticide or the buds with horticultural oil. TIA, -E
Good evening E, aphids in November, what next !!!?? Tbh I would leave it to mother nature. The frosts are coming here with a vengeance tonight and that will do the trick nicely. I can't imagine that Normandy will be far behind.
Good morning Wendy, I have found around -5°C and below does the trick. But tbh I'm not sure about the eggs. So J @Osoyoung advice on Neem oil is probably the best bet. In the Spring I use dish soap which is effective. Still very strange to have Aphids at this time of the year!!!
Maybe you could try "natural" insecticide : I also successfully experimented cinnamon : 25 cl alcohol (70°) 25 cl water 1 full spoon cinnamon Let the cinnamon infuse one night, filter then spray.
@emery I noticed hardly ANY aphids this year at all, in previous years my potted trees have been smashed in the spring by greenfly. With a municipal park literally just over my fence I find this odd. I do have a healthy flock of Blue Tits and Coal Tits that come service my trees.. I don’t put any food out for them until autumn as I am concerned the free meal will deter them from doing the job in hand!
Well @AlainK pyrethrins are natural, but they still burn the small branches. The problem with young grafts, as with new growth, is that branches aren't hardened off yet. I wasn't even sure I would leave it outside at all this winter. @Acerholic Freezing would possibly be effective, if it gets cold enough. We only got down to -3C last year, it was never cold enough to stratify seeds left outside. The coldest we've gotten in the last 8 years or so is around -8C, and that in springtime. I will see if I can get some Neem oil, I believe it has to be from the pharmacy here? Do you know Alain? @0soyoung do you think oils are risk-free for a young graft?
It's mainly preventive, especially against scales, that are difficult to get rid of, but it can be used as a treatment against other more vulnerable insects. And yes, it can't be sold as a horticultural product here, which is very stupid, so you must buy some as cosmetics. PS : another traditional recipe, very common a few decades ago but becoming trendy again is "savon noir" ("black soap", made from potassium hydroxide instead of sodium hydroxide) and nicotin. Since the sale of nicotin is now prohibited (it's a violent poison), some let their cigarette butts macerate in water, then add "black soap". Or if you don't smoke (good kids !), you can buy the cheapest packet of rolling tobacco ;°)
@AlainK I know..I gave up cigs years ago but have been totally addicted to Nicorrete gum.. upside I gather my constant chewing of nicotine gum..deters the Covid virus to some degree
@emery. Autumnal aphids exist, their particular repoduction is welknown. Aphids eggs are resistant to extreme cold, -30° and -40° in nord Russia. No destruction by frost expected. This is a myth transmited by home gardeners... (extremly desolated to say that). https://www.perspectives-agricoles....nt/pj/62/30/6d/31/382_7548239956744708518.pdf Does AlainK can traduct a little from that ? Thanks.
Woof... I'm not even sure I can understand it all in French actually. I'll get back to it tomorrow and see what the relevant passages are and how I can translate them.
Oh my dear , the relevant passages of the first page is enough ! Perhaps with the proportionnal activity with températures; on the right. The rest is for wheat and grain professional crops.
A very good remedy against aphids is nettles (Urtica dioica), take a bunch of nettles and put them in 1 or 2 liters of water, leave the nettles soak for a day covered to macerate. After this time, strain the liquid and pour it into spray bottles to spray along with a splash of dishwasher and the aphids disappear.
Well it's miserable now, but out for groceries (still in quarantine here) a couple of days ago, I saw two forsythias blooming. So it may be normal to see aphids in fall, even if we don't usually, but they're not the only ones who think it's spring. I found some scale infestation on a couple of plants, too. So I got some Neem oil. What concentration should I use when spraying? I see differing recommendations out there. @0soyoung ?
