Collected Wisdom on Good Gardening habits and pest control tips

Red Lily Beetle? Yikes! Here's your battle plan.
Lily Beetle, left unchecked, will disfigure, seriously weaken, and eventually kill members of the Liliacae family - Oriental Lilies and Fritillary being the most popular. Both their larvae and adults munch through leaves so fast, that the plant ends up with very little foliage left to feed on the sun's rays. They are bright orangey red, 1/4" long beetle, that can destroy your Oriental Lily bulbs over a short period of time.
Lily beetle feeds pretty much only on plants in this genus, so you can focus on monitoring these plants only with the following control measures. (note: Daylilies are the common name for the Hemerocallis family - nothing at all to do with true lilies other than the resemblance of their flowers).

The first signs that Red Lily Beetles have moved into your garden.

The first signs that Red Lily Beetles have moved into your garden.

I've been experimenting with a homemade NEEM OIL spray with some success, but running after pest problems with sprays and potions is never a good answer to a garden pest problem since it's bound to affect the other insects in your garden - most of which are beneficial. (NOTE: whether "natural" or "chemical", pesticides kill insects, and up to 90% of the insects you encounter in your garden are beneficial insects. Pesticides of any type should only be used to help you get an outbreak under control, then manual vigilance can keep things in control.).

Not an easy pest to control if you grow Oriental Lilies. Here's your battle plan!
This devastating garden pest attacks and lays its eggs on, Lilium species mainly- the stunning bulb Lily family of plants. Lily Beetle (Liloceris lilii) was first discovered in North America in 1992. Most likely they hitch-hiked in a shipment of bulbs from overseas. It has since spread throughout the northeast to the complete demise of gorgeous Lily beds everywhere. For years collectors tried product after product for control, but the Lily Beetle's tenacity was no match.

Lily beetle eggs - watch for these on leaf undersides soon after the plants leaf out in spring.

Lily beetle eggs - watch for these on leaf undersides soon after the plants leaf out in spring.

Unlike most other native garden pests, Lily Beetle has no natural predator on this continent, which is how they've been so successful in their aggressive march through Lily beds here. They are strong fliers so can seek out their target, but their eggs are also moved around on host plants - i.e. your new Lily bulb purchase! Eggs can be tucked in under the bulb scales, and just one hitch-hiking youngster brought home from the garden center can start a life cycle in your garden.

Identification: Adult Beetles are easy to spot - bright orangey-red, square-ish, and about 1/4" long. Lily Beetle larvae, chewing on a leaf.

Their larvae are mushy black slug-like things, with swollen bodies and black heads that look just like a little slimy mass of poop. The fecal matter analogy isn't so off-base either! Larvae cover themselves with their own fecal matter to deter and disguise themselves from predators. (That'll work!)

Life Cycle: Adults over-winter in the soil's surface layer, emerge in spring (in sync with the emerging lily foliage), and immediately mate. Early to mid May you'll find adults tucked into the leaf joints, often in pairs, busily mating. Soon after mating, females lay brownish-orange eggs on the undersides of foliage that hatch within 4-8 days. (Mid to late May, routinely check the undersides of leaves for an orange line of clustered tiny eggs). This more or less brings us to early June here in the northeast, when you'll see the young larvae initially feeding on the undersides of the foliage, but later on the upper surfaces, stems, and buds. (If you where vigilant about getting the adults and crushing the eggs, you shouldn't end up with too many larvae.)

The larval feeding phase of their life cycle is the most destructive. They voraciously munch holes in leaves to Lily Beetle damage after a few years of being left unchecked.

Lily Beetle damage after a few years of being left unchecked.

the point of leaving nothing behind, and this feeding frenzy lasts for 16-24 days. The happily fattened larvae then drop to the soil to pupate and become adults. New adults emerge 16-22 days later (which brings us to more or less early August) and the new adults feed on your Lilies for the rest of the season. These are the ones that will tuck into the soil over winter and begin the cycle again next spring.

Each female beetle produces 250-450 eggs. That's a lot of lily beetles! Left unchecked they'll overrun and demolish any host plants in the vicinity within just a year or two.

Management: If you focus on the Lily Beetle's life cycle, it's easy to see when you can be Lily Beetle adult and eggs

effective in controlling this devastating pest. Cultivate the soil surface around your Lilies in late fall, searching for new adults bedding down for winter. In early spring, just as lily foliage is emerging, the beetles will too! Be vigilant for a couple of weeks and hunt down the emerging adults that can be found hiding in nooks all over the plant, before they have a chance to mate. (Trickier than it sounds since they have the uncanny ability to seemingly sense your thoughts and drop to the ground just a fraction of a second before your thumb and forefinger closes around them!). A week or so later, start search and destroy missions each day, this time looking for eggs and newly hatched larvae. In early August watch for new adults.

Avoiding the Problem: If you've grown Lilies successfully in the past without meeting this nasty pest, don't be too smug! With just one new un-inspected purchase the situation can change quickly. When purchasing new lily bulbs, or accepting a gift from a gardening neighbour, dunk them in a weak bleach solution for a minute and rinse them thoroughly, before they even get near your garden. ...and make sure the rinse water goes down a drain and not outside beside the garden hose! Remember, you're looking for bright red adults or slug-like larvae in the soil - not eggs, so they should easily rinse away if present. Inspect them thoroughly!

for more topics and in-depth articles, visit our new web site at -

www.YRgardening.ca
your LOCAL guide
to all things gardening in York Region
link to...

In the case of potted bulbs already growing, dunk and rinse them nevertheless. The growing plants will be weakened, and may punish you by not blooming well the first year - but they won't die. Wash away all soil that's in among the roots using room temperature water, and also inspect stems and foliage thoroughly for eggs or young larvae - any adults likely dropped off the plant already. Even just one beetle that makes it into your garden can begin the ravaging cycle, so don't let your eagerness to get your new plants into the ground deter you from a thorough de-bugging first.

Even with vigilance, once you have Lily Beetle in your garden beds you've likely got them for good. Control is the best you can hope for. Focus on its life cycle so you know what to watch for, when. With a watchful eye, a battle plan calendar, and a gloved hand, you'll be able to keep their population down to a manageable level and continue enjoying your beautiful Oriental Lilies.

                Good luck, and keep your gloved hand ready to pounce!   _Evelyn

   ©Evelyn Wolf, 2019. All rights reserved. contact for permission to use. to top of page

collecting branches for forcing indoors.

Reap Bloomin' Rewards from Winter Pruning! Forcing spring shrubs into early blooming indoors.
I love spending February in the garden pruning. I could do it in March, but it's hard to wait that long before getting up close and personal with my plants again.

As one of the first necessary outdoor gardening tasks of the season, shrub pruning is another calendar checkmark that moves us with increasing anticipation toward spring!   February pruning not only breaks the winter blahs, but is also the time when you can really see the structural framework of your trees or shrubs and prune for repair and improvement. With a few exceptions, this is the best time for general maintenance pruning. If the plants you're pruning are spring bloomers, there's a bonus to be had! Putting the cut branches through a simple treatment to trick them into blooming early indoors is another wonderful way to get some winter gardening gratification.
Here's what to do -
Forsythia, Magnolia, Cherry, Crab apple, Lilac, Pussywillow, Witch Hazel, Dogwood, Apple, etc.- any tree or shrub whose natural flowering time is early to late spring is a candidate for forcing. It's a pretty straightforward procedure with the only critical ingredient for success being timing. Candidate branches must have at least six weeks of freezing temperature before the embryonic flower buds formed the previous autumn at the leaf nodes, will be willing to break dormancy.   This brings us to more or less now- February, as the earliest cut branches can be forced to flower. March is fine, and probably better for late spring bloomers like lilac, but earlier than mid-February may result in shriveled barren branches instead of blooms.
Select young but strong branches approx. ½" diameter and cut them to a desired length. Look for ones that have lots of plump buds. Flower buds are rounder and fatter than leaf buds, but if they're too small to tell the difference just trust that by choosing branches that aren't too small or too old you'll have flowers. branches treated and in a few wekks they'll bloom

branches treated and in a few wekks they'll bloom

Cleanliness is important since, just as with cut flowers in the summer, it is bacteria allowed to enter the wound area that shortens vase life. Dipping your bypass pruners into a weak bleach solution before trekking outdoors will do the job. Keep cut branches outdoors and out of the sun until you're ready to put them through the following treatment. Tucked under a blanket of snow is perfect, and as long as they are protected like this they can wait a day or two.
Back inside where it's warm, fill a sink or tub with water as hot as your hands can take. Bring in only as many branches at a time as will fit in your sink and put them immediately into the hot water. Keeping the cut ends underwater at all times, re-cut them at an extremely slanted angle to maximize the interior surface area exposed to water. For very plump or very long branches make a 1" cut up the middle of the stem end to expose even more interior surface area.
Use a clean sharp knife and remember to keep at least the stem ends underwater at all times. Immersing the entire branch during this procedure is ideal, but not often do-able.
While your branches are waiting in their soaker bath, fill a clean bucket with warm water and mix forced branches in bloom

in floral preservative as per label instructions and 1 tbsp of Listerine per quart of water. This will promote water uptake and slow down bacteria growth. Adding a few drops of essential oil of Lavender will assist the bacteria killing action and make the whole experience that much more pleasant.
As quickly as you can without making a huge mess, move your prepared stems from the tub of hot water and put the cut ends into this bucket of preservative laced warm water. Your branches are now ready for use but will take two to three weeks to fully open their flower buds. You can leave them in the bucket of preservative in a cool place until the buds begin to open, or arrange them in a sturdy vase positioned in a prominent place where all can watch the beauty of spring unfold.
To maximize vase life keep your bucket or vase out of sunlight and change the water every few days for a fresh mix of preservative and warm water. Mist occasionally, keep them as cool as possible, and enjoy! _Evelyn

©Evelyn Wolf 2019. All rights reserved. contact for permission to use. to top of page