Scrapbook image

Your scrapbook

Forgotten your details?

Enter your email address and we'll send your username and password to you

London

  • Partly CloudyToday
    6°C/13°C
  • FairTomorrow
    4°C/13°C
  • See Gardeners'
    7-day forecast

Our Gardeners' 7-day forecast warns you of changing weather conditions (including frost, high wind and drought) and suggests actions to take to protect your plants.

Advertisement

Problem solving

Pollen beetles shaken from flower onto hand

Symptoms

Flower heads are infested with small bronze-green shiny beetles that spread pollen over petals.

Find it on: shasta daisies, sweet peas, cauliflowers, many ornamentals and vegetables

Time to act: spring, summer

Pollen beetles

In spring and summer, pollen beetles fly in from nearby oilseed rape crops to gather in open flowers where they feed on ripe pollen. Mostly, the beetles do little harm although occasionally they may nibble into unopened flower buds and damage the developing flowers of cauliflowers.

Solution

Organic

Pollen beetles can be a nuisance if you want to bring cut flowers indoors. Stand the flowers in a bucket somewhere dark for a few hours, say a shed, but near to a bright window or lamp. The beetles will fly up towards the light. Grow brassica crops under fleece or very fine mesh netting.

Advertiser Links

Subscribe to the magazine

October edition of Gardeners' World Magazine

In October...
The October issue is on sale from 30 September. Subscribe today and receive the next three issues of Gardeners' World magazine for just £1.

The UK's number 1 gardening magazine

TV & Radio

Television icon

What's on this week

Find out what gardening programmes are on TV and radio this week. And read more about the Gardeners' World programme.

Offer

Planter

Buy six agapanthus plants for £12.98.

BBC Magazines

© BBC Magazines Ltd. BBC Worldwide Ltd.

The BBC Gardeners' World Magazine word mark and logo are trademarks of BBC Worldwide Ltd.

BBC Magazines is owned by the BBC and our profits are returned to the BBC for the benefit of the licence-fee payer.