Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jan 28, 2011 8:18 pm Seems like it's mainly attacking the fresh new growth. I just cut them off. Should I spray them with anything? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: What's eating our orange tree? 3Jan 28, 2011 11:25 pm If it is aphids, spray them with soapy water!!! Chemical free, very cheap & gets rid of them!! Cooper's Build - Perth NOR viewtopic.php?f=31&t=30525 Prelim- mid Sept 2009, Pre Start 2 Feb, Siteworks- 21 April 2010, Slab- 10 May, Deliveries- all by 26 May Bricking- 28 May - 26 June, Roof complete 5 Aug, Float 28 Aug, Lock up 16 Sept Cabinets 1 Oct, Tiling 22 Oct, PCI 18 Nov, KEYS 3 Dec 2010 MOVED IN 17 DEC 2010 Re: What's eating our orange tree? 4Jan 29, 2011 6:03 am Hmmmm ... I wouldn't know aphids if they hit me in the head! But it does look like it ... here's just one of the pics I found http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/horticulture/citrus/health/pests/citrus-aphids Obviously, we are lacking the "suite of beneficial insects" Cooper, so how do I make the cocktail? Use actual soap and make some soapy water, or some kind of detergent? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 6Jan 29, 2011 8:23 am And what to do with these !?!? They look like miniature spikey snails ... Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ ^ also notice the thin tread trail of "something" Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Soapy water still the way to go for aphids? How-To ???? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 7Jan 29, 2011 9:49 am It's just a caterpillar. Squish 'em. Or have a read of the theads here on non-toxic treatment of the critters. Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 8Jan 29, 2011 10:00 am Really?! Never thought they can be spikey ... (and am I a child of the concrete jungle?!? ) OK, so this is probably the thread to check out http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=42198&p=638110&hilit=critters#p638110 My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 9Jan 29, 2011 10:06 am Spikey, hairy, all colours, patterns and sizes.... Michelle posted a question about a caterpillar plague attacking one of her trees a while back and there was some useful advice in there too. Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 10Jan 29, 2011 9:20 pm Slightly OT: I was talking about gardening with a Buddhist friend the other day. I mentioned something about squishing bugs and snails and they were horrified. I asked what they did. As if stating the obvious they said: "I throw snails over the fence." Lucky neighbours of this gentle Buddhist. Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves. - Dale Carnegie Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 11Jan 29, 2011 9:49 pm Cabinfever Lucky neighbours of this gentle Buddhist. Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 12Jan 30, 2011 6:23 am Well, I am definitely not squishing that!! Not with my fingers wrapped in thick leather gloves, not with the highest of the heels ... If I could, I would probably just flick those branches with a long stick so they fall somewhere ... (not much different from that Buddhist ) ... Ahh, just had a look here http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=32487&start=0&hilit=caterpillar+plague. Good thread! So, the pick and squish method is out of the question. Next, your (kek's) method of home made spray with garlic - sounds good - has anyone tried it and how successful is it? I may try this anyway (but need to wait for 4 days!). Yates Success - I'm sure this would work, but a bit reluctant on it since we have quite a bit of fruit growing (which is a shocker - after aaaalllll these years, our orange decides to grow more than a few fruit - I guess becuase I didn't come near it this year ... well that's what my HD would say, anyway). Anyhow, it looks like I will have to do something very soon if I don't want a repeat of Michelle's case ... My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 13Jan 30, 2011 8:54 am It looks like blackfly and leaf miners (the windy trail in the leaf on the first caterpillar pic). Not sure what the caterpillar is though. Perhaps a Dingy Swallowtail (Papilio anactus)? There are several swallowtail butterflies known as citrus butterflies and the caterpillars look fairly similar to me, so it might be a different one! Try a whiteoil mix for your blackfly and it does work on the leaf miners, but takes longer. You mix a cup of cooking oil, a half cup of water and a little detergent. Then you fill a spray container with water, add some of your white oil mix and give it a wee shake. Then spray it on the affected leaves. It will coat and then suffocate the flies and bugs. There's some basic info on the ABC Gardening Australia site about this http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1397350.htm, including the white oil mix. I read this a while ago because we have a lemon tree that's been almost completely in shade, other than it's top most branches, and it's really popular with all sort of things that are eating it! Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 14Jan 30, 2011 12:55 pm Fantastic post Kerry, thank you! Also, thanks to this ABC link, I have realised that our tree also suffers (luckily, not too much but just enough for me to notice) from iron deficiency (commonly known as chlorosis ). Will try this natural remedy, sounds quite easy (except it's SO HOT outside, I don't dare going there any time soon ). Also great to understand how can a tame potion like this kill anything ! My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 15Jan 30, 2011 1:04 pm Be carefull not to kill off the ladybugs - do a search on them to findout how beneficial they can be! Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 16Jan 30, 2011 1:21 pm Detergent helps the oil to stick and the oil suffocates them. We use detergent suitable for septic tanks as well. The water is just a medium to make it easier to spray Our tree probably has a million deficienies, being outcompeted by everything around it. And yes - very hot here!! Hubby napping now after spending the morning mulching in the heat. If you're lucky enough to have a good supply of ladybugs in your area, then you could just leave them to deal with the aphids, though I don't think they eat blackfly. However (please don't anyone shoot me) if you're really worried about the blackfly etc then you could still use the whiteoil spray and hope you don't spray too many beneficial bugs. This is the problem we always face when deciding to treat something, sometimes it's worth it, others it's not. By using something like the whiteoil mix rather than an insecticide however, you're reducing the potential harm you may cause on other insect populations. Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 17Feb 01, 2011 1:03 am Before you go lobbing the iron this and fert that, ther eis already a few good write ups on citrus in here. I would be getting at first, some organic compost, then a thick layer of mulch, hose it in really well. Then apply molasses every two weeks for a couple of months. Then tell me if it needs all the chemical crap so often recommended It will look like it has plastic leaves. If you have ants on it, rub some chalk into the stem. It stops them going into the tree and putting the aphids there. They do that because it is weak and has thin cell walls in the leaves so the aphids can tap into the sap easy. Leafminer also is going to almost disappear to some extent. Use a vegetable based oil spray on the leaves. Not white oil (a petrochemical) or similar products. Veggie oil can be more effective and be used safely on your plant regularly. The caterpillar, well leave him/her be They will chomp the leaf but so what. New leaves grow back and it won't be there long. It might feed a bird, or become a wonderful butterfly. Or it may become a moth and be a food source for bats or pollinate native flowers. Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 18Feb 01, 2011 6:56 am Thanks, Fu. Agree the tree/any plant is able to protect itself when it's healthy and vigorous, and that comes from the bottom (roots). This year it didn't get its dose of chicken pellets or organic compost - we didn't empty our "bin" this year as there was nothing to empty due to the building. However, I am puzzled to see sooooo much fruit on it - doesn't make sense - BUT, I did prune/crop it quite well before the demolition - so I think it has just managed to catch up and responded with this fruit shower!? Anyhow, looks like I snipped the aphids off - can't see any more, but I'm sure there are more of the attacked young shoots. Haven't seen more of the c'pillars ... phew! We don't have ants, well not in any alarming or noticeable numbers anyway. As for the chalk - where can one get chalk / slaked lime that we could paint on the tree ?? (and also make house paint out of it) ??? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 19Feb 01, 2011 9:53 am Lex - just to add to what Fu said and clarify my own post directly before that. Do not buy whiteoil spray from the store, make the 'whiteoil' spray up as I described previously (refer to the ABC Gardening link I posted for more info). By pruning your tree and removing the existing fruit you have rejuvanated it and encouraged it to give you a spectacular fruit of crop. Established citrus trees often benefit from a good pruning if they've been struggling for a while. We're hoping our lemon will do the same. Re: What's eating our orange tree? and OMG WHAT'S THIS?! 20Feb 01, 2011 11:52 am Thanks, Kerry. Yes, I wasn't going to buy any white oil - now that I have the recipe And yes, I'm pretty sure that my harder than normal pruning was the cause of the fruit - I now remember that the hope for that was going through my head as I was pruning it. Also had flashbacks of some tv program when they rejuvenated some citrus tree, but very & super drastically - ours was a light prune compared to what they did! Now, I pruned it about July or Aug the latest in 2009. Last year's season (May 2010), we only had 5-6 fruit - the tree simply did not have enough time to produce new growth (with buds), so this year it's all coming together! Finally, when is the best time of year to prune citrus more seriously? Could it be just after / as the fruit is ripening (April/May)? Or, would we still need to wait for the second season until we see more fruit (like it happened this time)? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Very common on rendered homes Smaller suppliers get the lower quality raw materials 6 11892 Hello. I just bought a few acres in Habana, Mackay, and my horses seem to love hanging around under this tree. I would like to name the paddock after this tree. Can… 0 9547 |