Plant protection in February: 5 tips from the plant doctor
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No sooner does the gardening season start than plant pests and pathogens are on the move again.
We asked the plant doctor René Wadas for his tips for February.
fruit trees are gnawed at the roots, tuber vegetables are eaten.
No other rodent is as active as the vole, whose natural enemies
include weasels, foxes, polecats, martens, cats, owls and birds of prey.
But also other pests and plant diseases are feared among hobby gardeners.
The good news: if you act early, you can usually prevent the worst.
Here the plant doctor René Wadas tells you what you can already do in February.
Tip 1: Fight voles early
Voles have a fine sense of smell, they do not like bad odors.
Therefore, one can distribute well liquor, butyric acid or other odor-intensive materials in the walks.
More elaborate, but just as effective: crush elder leaves, garlic or the onions of
imperial crowns, mix with rock flour and then sprinkle into the aisles.
The mice cannot stand the smell for long and flee.
In addition: Carry out new plantings rather in spring, since they are ideal vole food over the winter.
Always place new plantings similar to onions or tubers in a wire basket with a
galvanized wire mesh (mesh width approx. 15 millimeters).
Alamy Stock Photo/Krys Bailey voles is a subfamily of the rodents, to which also field-mice, Rötelmäuse and muskrats belong. The vole that eats the tulip bulbs in our gardens is usually the Ostschermaus (Arvicola amphibius)
Tip 2: Spraying
A sprouting spraying should only be done if in the previous year some pests have appeared in excess.
It is not necessary to treat everything precautionary.
Because many beneficial insects, which also overwinter in your shrubs, would also suffer damage.
However, spraying should not be done across the board to prevent all plant pests.
For example, it is a misconception that aphids can also be put in their place preventively.
The influx of adult animals is greater than the number of laid eggs.
In the following cases, sprouting spraying should be performed: Strong infestation
with Sitka spruce aphids on blue spruces, with scale insects and mealy bugs on firs
and pines as well as blood lice and spider mites on woody plants.
Use a kerosene oil product that seals the above-mentioned pests and their winter
eggs airtightly and is not washed off as quickly in the rain as rape oil-based products.
Use only once in dry and frost-free weather!
You can spray until the first leaf tips show. As soon as the leaves unfold,
you should no longer spray your plants.
Tip 3: Remove fruit mummies
Flora Press/Alexandre Petzold Fruit mummies of the quince often harbour, among other things, the pests of the top drought
Wrinkled old fruits are particularly well visible in winter trees before the leaves shoot.
On them can be the spores of the point drought and fruit rot as well as the
pathogens of apple scab or the fool's pocket disease on plums.
In spring, these are responsible for the spread of millions of spores.
Thus the next infestation is preprogrammed.
With the lining up tree cut you should remove therefore absolutely the fruit mummies.
These measures can significantly reduce a new infestation.
My tip: Since the spores are very resistant,
the mummies do not belong on the compost, but in the organic waste garbage can.
Tip 4: When the ficus loses its leaves
We are concerned when the leaves of the birch fig (Ficus benjamina) fall off.
My tip: With the right nutrient supply you can prevent the premature leaf fall.
When choosing fertilizers, pay attention to the composition of the individual nutrients,
an extra portion of magnesium and calcium should be included.
Calcium is an important building block for stability,
it strengthens the plants and promotes their leaf-holding power.
I fertilize weekly in summer, from the end of February I start again with the first
fertilizer applications for my houseplants.
Tip 5: Controlling pests on orchids
Orchids like the popular Phalaenopsis are also attractive to pests.
The earlier you notice them, the higher the chance of getting rid of them.
However, pests are often overlooked, whether spider mites, mealy bugs, shield lice or mealy bugs.
My tip: You can use Rainfarnbrühe, an old household remedy, as a preventive measure to drive them away.
To do this, place 100 grams of fresh or - now in winter - dried Rain Fern in two liters
of water for 24 hours and then boil it up for about 30 minutes.
Let the broth cool down and pass it through a sieve.
Then add three liters of water and a shot of rapeseed oil and spray the orchids twice a week.
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