Mailbox Your letters, photos, questions
QI have several of these bugs ( above) on my rosebushes. I can’t see a single aphid, so don’t know what they’re eating. I haven’t had aphids all season. Will they be causing damage, or are they good bugs?
Judy Sharpe, Irymple, Vic
PHIL DUDMAN SAYS These are crusader bugs. Like aphids, they are sap-sucking insects that target new shoots and pierce them with their sucking mouth parts. Their feeding actions can weaken plants, and they have the potential to spread viruses, to which roses are prone. To control them, hold a partly filled bucket of soapy water under them and tap them into it with a stick.
SENSORY GARDEN
These photos ( left and above) show the amazing growth of our side garden in just over six months. I made the garden for my daughter, Lola. She loves to look at the colours and feel the textures. The many different plants range from low groundcovers (pratia, viola and bacopa) to medium shrubs (lavender, limonium, Russian sage and agastache), as well as dwarf apples, a fig tree, and a deciduous magnolia to block the heat in summer and let light in during winter. Rob Anniss, Ballarat, Vic
I get so confused by the di erent peat products. What are sphagnum moss, peat moss and coir peat? And what do you use them for? Jerey Staord, via email
PHIL DUDMAN SAYS These organic materials are all valued for their ability to absorb then release moisture and nutrients. When you add them to soil or potting mix, you don’t need to water as often, so plants are generally less stressed. They are highly porous, too, allowing roots to penetrate and access the moisture.
Sphagnum moss has long strands, which makes it useful for lining hanging baskets and wrapping around roots of plants such as orchids. It is commonly used to keep roots moist when making a kokedama hanging plant display.
Peat moss is derived from naturally decomposed sphagnum moss and other materials, and has a finer texture, like compost. Both peat moss and sphagnum moss have a low pH (3.3–4), making them a useful soil amendment when growing acid-loving plants such as camellias, azaleas and blueberries. Peat moss and sphagnum moss are harvested from bogs and wetlands in cold, wet pockets around the world. These are fragile ecosystems, and the process of mining these materials is very destructive.
Thankfully, there’s been a major shift towards using coir peat (aka coco peat). This moisture-holding material is derived from the fibrous outer shell of the coconut ( above left), making it a renewable resource that is less damaging to the environment. It’s also the most economical and, arguably, versatile option. You generally find coir products in three forms: coir peat, which has a fine texture like peat moss, making it easy to mix through soil and potting mixes; long-stranded coir fibre, which is handy for lining hanging baskets or blending with coir peat to wrap around roots; and coir chips, which are roughly cut chunks of coconut fibre that are useful as a base in specialised potting mixes where an open, airy medium is needed for growing plants such as orchids and bromeliads. The pH of coir products is closer to neutral (5.8–6.8), so they won’t have an acidifying effect on the soil or potting mix.