Whether you have been a gardener for years or are just getting started, the popular pastime isn’t always a walk in the park. From dealing with pesky insects eating away at your precious plants to learning how to cultivate a bee-friendly garden, there can be some hurdles along the way. If your gardening problems are leaving you scratching your head, then your best port of call is Kings Plant Barn.
Kings Plant Barn is not only home to a wide range of plants and gardening equipment, but there are always friendly experts available to help guide you on your gardening journey. With a wealth of experience and a passion for helping customers succeed, resident Plant Doctors are on hand with tips, advice and solutions to help you cultivate a thriving garden.
As we head into the cooler season, backyard feijoa trees are becoming laden with their delicious autumnal fruits. We ask a Plant Doctor to answer one of the most common questions when it comes to growing feijoas.
I’ve had a feijoa tree on my property for years now and have always enjoyed the fruit, but I have noticed almost all my fruit have little maggots in them this year. What are these, and how can I stop them from ruining my fruit?
These little larvae are the juvenile form of tiny moths called Guava Moths. They lay their eggs on young guava, plum, peach, nectarine and feijoa fruit; then, the larvae eat the fruit flesh before dropping to the ground to pupate. To prevent these little pests from latching on, use bug netting on the whole tree or around the fruit once flowering has finished.
For treatment, determine how many of these moths are in your area. Use a ‘Guava Moth Trap; that captures male moths or a ‘Little Bugga’ moth trap that traps all moths in the area. If you trap more than five moths in two weeks, further measures must be taken. Spray the fruit with neem oil twice a week until you stop getting moths in your trap. Remove infected fruit and dispose of them, but not in the compost.
Have a question? Look for the Plant Doctors in the red shirts in store, or get in touch at plantdoctor.co.nz.
