We asked you what pest, disease and plant problems you’d like Alan Titchmarsh’s advice on. Hundreds of you responded with questions about a host of problems on a wide range of flowers, fruit and veg.
Here, exclusively for subscribers, Alan Titchmarsh offers organic solutions to a selection of your plant disease questions. Come back here, next month to find out whether he’s answered your question.
Vine weevils are destroying my plants. What is the best way to get rid of them and is there any way to prevent them? Gary Lindsay Alan Titchmarsh says:Vine weevil is a heartbreaking pest to encounter, not least because the damage often goes unnoticed until the plant collapses due to the roots being eaten away. Always use fresh and sterile compost when potting up plants, as well as clean containers. Water susceptible plants with a biological nematode vine weevil control such as Nemasys, strictly in accordance with the instructions on the product.
Some of the leaves on my containerised apple tree are coated in white stuff then curling up and dying. What’s wrong with it? Deb Alan Titchmarsh says:Your potted apple tree is suffering from mildew – a fungus disease that is especially prevalent when trees are under stress, which usually means they are dry at the roots. Make sure that there is plenty of air circulating around the plant (thinning out overcrowded stems will help) and try to keep the compost gently moist at all times. Apply dilute liquid tomato feed once a week between April and September to build up the plant’s ability to grow through the attack.
I have a severe infestation of box caterpillar. Should I pull it all up? Roland Backhouse Alan Titchmarsh says:Don’t get rid of your plants just yet! Well fed and watered they
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