Friday 12 August 2022

Your advice needed


Every now and then I get a bit tetchy in this heat. This morning it was because of all of you who have to approve any comment before you allow it to be published. Of course, you can do what you like - it's your blog - but what makes me tetchy is that I vowed not to leave comments which need approval before publication, then I forget which blogs have the border guards and only remember after I have tried to leave one. I don't know why I find it so irritating, but I rarely go back to see if my contribution was accepted. You know who you are.

Yesterday there was a wonderful wind blowing through our compact but adorable city apartment. I only left the house once to do a bit of shopping, and even then I went no further than 200 feet. The only slight problem was that the cooling breeze was strong enough to blow out the flames on the cooker if they were set low.  Nothing really.

Down to business. I need the help of some of you green-fingered people. The photo up there is of a self-seeded fig. I am going to have to waste a bit of time explaining to you how a fig can self-seed in a plant pot of a house in a Northern Hemispheric English town - or I would if I could. H.I. planted a completely different species in the pot over 40 years ago, but then it was taken over by this fig. She thinks of it as a little mystery but I think of it as a practical joke. I may have even done it myself but I don't remember.

If you would be so good as to embiggen the photo you may be able to make out a sparkly residue seemingly sprayed over the leaves which is very sticky. You may also see little brown spots which - maybe - is the parasite which has got onto the leaves through the nearby window.

What should we do? Spray it? If so, what with?


28 comments:

  1. No idea Tom sorry but several of the sunday papers and also gardening magazines answer questions if you send them in - presumably you could just e mail the query and the photo. Oh and no Border Guards here - send me all the chat lines you wish - all welcome!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It looks as if you have spider mites on your leaves. They aren’t actually spiders, but they are a type of arachnid similar to ticks. You should be able to get something from a garden centre.
    I have Boarder Guards simply because some people leave very unpleasant remarks. However, I will try once again to leave the border open.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, I will look into it. Although it is possible to block someone who follows you, all you can do is delete any comments from those who don't. Eventually they get the message, as I know from experience. Abusive comments can be reported to Google and they can block the sender for good. They would only be able to come back on a different computer under a different name, because each device has a signature code which can be recognised by Google.

      Delete
  3. I think you have early stage fig rust. Lots of advice on web as to how to proceed, but it shouldn't harm any fruit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. I will look into it. Fruit?? Not on this sprat of a tree.

      Delete
  4. You can see the little creatures/buggers. Gentle remedy, wipe them off with very watery washing up liquid. It's a bit like nitpicking;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will try it, but these look similar to limpets. They don't walk around...

      Delete
    2. Scale insects...easy to pick off and squash

      Delete
    3. Yes, that's exactly what they are - I checked. Thanks.

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. You are not in it this time, or were you talking about your tea?

      Delete
  6. I had similar on a houseplant and think they are scales which secrete the sticky substance called honeydew. Lots of remedies online,sadly none worked and I had to throw the plant away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I might go down the route of treating the soil.

      Delete
  7. A garden center might suggest a spray mist to solve the problem. If you take the photo to the garden center they'll identify the problem and have a solution.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It is scale! Had them on my plum trees years ago. Scrub off with diluted washing up liquid.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Not a clue, but the free commenters here surely have solved the problem.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Well...I can see that there is no need for me to tell you about scale and honeydew. As far as the other, I try to let people be. It is no matter to me if they want to look at the comments before publishing them. I did the same for a time, because I was frustrated with all the spam I was getting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't get any spam, which is maybe why I feel as I do about moderation.

      Delete
    2. - apart from the online gambling things which I just delete, but Google seems to delete them for me now. The trouble is they sometimes throw some others into the bin at the same time.

      Delete
  11. We had something similar on our lime tree last year and I seem to remember a gardener friend telling me it was due to a mite that was not harmful to the tree.
    Comment moderation doesn't put me off leaving a comment or checking back for additional comments.......they are often the best part of the blog. I always check back on yours to see what other comments have appeared.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, but on mine you see it in print as soon as you press the button.

      Delete
  12. Your latest post re Plantagenets doesn't load with me, Tom and it's a period I'm fascinated by. Any comments?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everyone got the wrong idea about the post so I took it down.

      Delete