Sage

[garrykiller]

hey guys,

hopefully someone can help me. my sage in the garden is attracting little flies, they almost look like fruit flies and they are killing it.
any advice on what i can do or if anyone has expirenced anything similar.

Ta

[Mobile Chicane]

That's odd, since sage is often used to keep pests away from the garden.

Is it in full sun with well-drained soil? If not, my guess is the roots are rotting.

[garrykiller]

yeah its potted and has drain holes in the boottom. gets the sun for about 60% of the day. its only this one pot which is odd.

[Mr GrimNasty]

Whitefly I expect, or your usual aphids, they're not immune.

[Mobile Chicane]

Difficult to say without seeing it if it's a 'root' pest or 'leaf' pest. (The recent warm / wet weather won't have helped either.)

To cover all bases I'd repot it in a new pot in fresh compost with some sand added, pick out any dead / old leaves from the centre of the plant and move it into full sun.

Give the leaves a squirt daily with a weak solution of washing up liquid in a spray bottle, and don't over-water it.

[garrykiller]

Mobile Chicane said:

Difficult to say without seeing it if it's a 'root' pest or 'leaf' pest. (The recent warm / wet weather won't have helped either.)

To cover all bases I'd repot it in a new pot in fresh compost with some sand added, pick out any dead / old leaves from the centre of the plant and move it into full sun.

Give the leaves a squirt daily with a weak solution of washing up liquid in a spray bottle, and don't over-water it.

thanks i will give it a go.

[Mr GrimNasty]

It's not difficult to say at all, from your description and the plant it is 95% Whitefly FFS.
ETA: Whatever, any pesticide marked suitable will do.

Edited by Mr GrimNasty on Monday 20th June 12:29

[STROPPY]

I've been blasting aphids and pals off my plants with a garlic solution. The sulphur in the garlic kills everything apparently so don't get it near nice bugs like ladybirds etc... You should also test it on the plant in case it affects it too. There are various recipes but I just crushed a garlic clove, let it steep in hot water, filter it into a spray bottle and blast the blighters. Happy days!

[Simpo Two]

STROPPY said:

I've been blasting aphids and pals off my plants with a garlic solution. The sulphur in the garlic kills everything apparently so don't get it near nice bugs like ladybirds etc... You should also test it on the plant in case it affects it too. There are various recipes but I just crushed a garlic clove, let it steep in hot water, filter it into a spray bottle and blast the blighters. Happy days!

Or you could buy an insecticide

I know garlic and the Allium family are bactericidal (allicin) but didn't know they were insecticidal as well.


NB Whiteflies don't look anything like fruitflies.

[STROPPY]

Simpo Two said:

Or you could buy an insecticide

You can indeed, I just didn't fancy spraying insecticide on my mangetout and peas. It's more organic than a soap spray and you don't have to repeat the applications as often(apparently). I heard some bird on the chelsea flower show programs suggesting it so I thought i'd give it a go. It seemed to work. I don't mind a bit of a Blue Peter approach to gardening. It's more fun , well, sometimes.

[Simpo Two]

STROPPY said:

It's more organic than a soap spray

Get a grip man! I can't believe a PHer said that. Now go and get some napalm before I report you!!

[garrykiller]

i ended up cutting back the plant and it has re grown minus the bugs