Humidity raises problems...

Big increase in calls to RHS advisory service

The warm, muggy weather of 2016 caused higher than usual outbreaks of bacterial and scab plant diseases, according to the Royal Horticultural Society. There was a 65 per cent increase in enquries to the charity’s advisory service about the pathogens which attack apples, pears and other trees in the rose family, such as pyracantha.

The top disease last year was honey fungus. It attacks a wide range of woody plants, infecting roots and tissues below the bark, leading to the eventual demise of many ailing trees and shrubs.

Slugs and snails were the biggest pest, which comes as no surprise, but others are becoming more prevalent. In third place was fuchsia gall mite, first detected in mainland Britain in 2007 but now widespread in southern England. The microscopic pest infests shoot tips, sucking sap, causing distorted leaves and flowers as the infestation progresses. At number four, glasshouse thrips, often called thunder flies, feed on plants in a similar manner, causing a silvery discoloration of the upper leaf. Normally a glasshouse pest, last year they were found on plants outdoors growing in sheltered areas.

“Simple steps, such as choosing more resistant varieties and taking an integrated approach to dealing with them, can help gardens fight back,” said RHS head of plant health, Gerard Clover.