Figures.

By Dave Zeldon and Ely Schweyer

Now that we’ve brought our plants inside the house to over-winter, we begin to notice those slender, dark gray flies (0.2- 0.4 cm long) flitting about atop the pot soil. Yuck!

   These insects are known as fungus gnats (Bradysia sp.). Whereas they are considered only to be a minor nuisance in house plants, due to their sheer numbers hovering around an attractive plant, they can certainly take away from its appeal. Below is a bit about these pests and some basic control measures.

How Do Fungus Gnats Affect Your Plant?

Other than their swarming presence, fungus gnats are not a direct threat to your plant, but an indirect threat. As their name implies, they are concerned with snacking on the fungi mycelium living in your plants’ soil. (Yes, it’s there and it’s a good thing!) However, these little flies can transfer disease between plants, making them nuisance pests.

A Quick Look at Their Life Cycle:

Adults may lay 300 eggs at a time, which hatch a week later into tiny, threadlike larvae. The larvae feed upon organic matter in the potting soil. After two weeks, they pupate into winged adults, that have no trouble annoying you to no end.

Basic Control Measures:

• The fastest and easiest method of control is to catch the flying adults with yellow sticky cards. The large cards can be cut into little strips and mounted onto little wooden splints (popsicle sticks) then placed around the base of the plant out of the line of sight.

• Water your potted plant from the bottom (sub-irrigation) by adding water to the saucer it is sitting in. This will keep the soil surface dry, making it uninhabitable for the hatching insect larvae. If the surface soil is already very wet, try placing a few potato discs or slices on the surface of the soil. This will attract the larvae as they migrate to the potato to feed. Simply replace the discs every three to four days with fresh slices to eliminate the next generation of adults.

• If you have a large number of plants afflicted as in a greenhouse situation, an application of predatory nematodes (Steinernema feltiae) as a soil drench is suggested. Nematodes will attack the fungus gnat larvae in the soil which will in turn lead to more nematodes being produced.

Good Bugs Are Working at Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre!

Here at Eising’s Greenhouse and Garden Centre, we practice what as known as I.P.M. or Integrated Pest Management. Since we try to create a perfect environment for our plants, we also, unintentionally create perfect conditions for their related pests. To keep the pests at bay, we institute series of steps:

1 - Cultural Controls: We select only the healthiest of plant material to sell and keep them healthy through proper fertilization and growing conditions. We’ve learned that insects are attracted to stressed-out plants!

2 - Physical Controls: We are constantly walking through our plant aisles checking for insect and disease presence and removing the affected plants. Also a clean growing area means there is less chance of pest populations building up on alternate host plants such as weeds.

3 - Biological Controls: At the beginning of the growing season, even before there is any evidence of pest problems, we introduce naturally occurring predators into the growing areas. This is to be at the ready for when the pests do arrive!

In our arsenal we have a series of tiny parasitic wasps, microscopic wire-worms called nematodes, predatory mites as well as bacterial inoculants. So therefore, we cannot spray any chemical insecticides as they will hurt our very valuable biological cache!

Did you ever imagine all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into your plant purchases from Eising's to make them the best value around?

For more information – and bug products - visit Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre soon! 🪰

By: Dave Zeldon and Ely Schweyer

Most experts agree that we shouldn't bother bringing in our favourite summer potted plants for the winter and that we should buy new again the next season. But this seems to go against our sensibilities after paying good money earlier in the season. Why not try to save that bay tree, those Rosemary, and French Tarragon containers, as well as expensive Phormium, Mandeville, Passionflower, and Jasmine plants?

   The secret to indoor survival for summer plants is to slow down their growth during the winter, so they’re ready to be put outside again once all the danger of frost has passed. How? A few weeks before fall frosts are expected, gradually introduce plants to life indoors by moving them inside (to a quarantined spot*) for half a day, working up to a full day over a week or so. Don't wait until nighttime temperatures are only slightly above freezing as the plants may go into shock and drop leaves!

How to Keep These Guys Comfy During the Winter Months?

• It is suggested that you should prune back excessive growth and re-pot with new lighter growing media.
• Place them in the sunniest location you have and then water sparingly but regularly over the Winter.
• Raising humidity by using a humidifier helps too.
• Resist the urge to fertilize these plants until just before you reintroduce them to outdoor living.
• Perhaps just for fun, you could repot them into the appropriate seasonal pots and planters!

It Seems They Brought Others in With Them - And They're Not Nice House Guests

*Before long, you may notice some unwanted guests, such as thrips and spider mites, on and around your precious plants as their natural predators are no longer present to keep their populations at bay. In many cases, it may be too late, and your plants may have to be discarded before the Holidays, but that’s not always the case!

   Common problems that make themselves apparent indoors would be the brown soft scale insect, whiteflies, mealybugs, aphids, spider mites and most often, fungus gnats (those pesky little black flies).

   Fungus gnats are considered to be the most common nuisance in houseplants. Sometimes their sheer numbers just hovering around an attractive plant take away from its appeal.

Basic Fungus Gnat Control Measures:

The fastest and easiest method of control is to catch the flying adults with yellow sticky cards. The large cards can be cut into little strips and mounted onto little wooden splints (popsicle sticks) then placed around the base of the plant out of the line of sight.

   The chances are that the adults have already deposited eggs in the growing media (soil) of the plant as it is rich in organic matter, so we can disrupt its life cycle by:

• Subirrigation - water your potted plant from the bottom by adding water to the saucer it is sitting in. This will dry out the soil surface making it uninhabitable for the hatching larvae.
• Trapping larvae - If the surface soil it already very wet, try placing a few potato discs or slices on the surface of the soil. This will attract the larvae as they migrate to the potato to feed. Simply replace the discs every five days or so with fresh slices to eliminate the next generation of adults.
• Inoculating the soil with beneficial nematodes. Most garden centres will carry the Guardian line of beneficial nematode products.

We hope this helps your plants enjoy your winter abode as much as you do this season, for more information - and plants – visit Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre!