Hi everyone, I am new to this forum; was searching and reading; very very helpful replies and suggestions. Here is my problem: Relatively new to gardening - always learning - i put out some small perennial plants not yet in bloom (new to this plant also) - Gaillardia (blanket flower) and another one called Sunfire (think is in the same family), also 4 o'clock seedlings and two days later the tops of the 4 o'clocks were eaten off. The other two perennial plants the top of the plant was eaten. Last year this happened to all my sunflower seedling plants. Just the tops eaten off - looks to be a straight cut right off as if you had snipped it with scissors. I never see any insect on it or around it in the soil. We do have a slug problem here - trying to control that but i have not seen any yet. I have noticed alot of ants in the soil and what i call but unsure of the proper name - cellar bugs (hard shell and curl up when you pick them up). I have noticed a couple of squirrels around also. Any suggestions or help on this would be appreciated. I will do a search also for the insects i have read about on your site (weevils, cutworms, moth larvae, aphids) and try to gain some knowledge on these insects and how exactly they affect certain plants in my garden. I have sunflower seedlings that MUST be planted outside shortly and am afraid i will just lose them all. Thank you everyone Dorothy
Sounds like cutworms. The come out at night - try searching with a torch after dark (though they are well-camouflaged and not easy to spot)
Thank you Michael for your quick reply - did some searching yesterday and came to the same conclusion that it was most likely that. Found some suggestions in my search on how to combat the problem - put a ring of molasses around the plant, re-apply after a rain??????? Would attract wasps though. Eggshells around plant; and some kind of powder for cutworms but did not find in Walmart so have to look elsewhere. Are they easy to see with a flashlight at nighttime??????? Thanks Dorothy
