Post by (DahliaMan) Cornish Paul on May 8, 2011 14:10:24 GMT
The brilliant thing about this site is that money can be saved. By that I mean we have all bought products that dont do what they say on the tin. I so have. So I would recommend the following (my main hobby is growing exhibiting dahlias).
Weedkiller (strong one) - DEADFAST retails where I live in Cornwall here at around £20 (can buy from EBay but its £6 more) and its brilliant, even on J.Knotweed, and works out cheaper than the likes of Roundup etc. I have found 'cheap' weedkillers are poor in results. As a weedkiller for killing green stuff only but not tough stuff like nettles then Weedol is the one for me.
Insecticide/Fungicide combined - on my dahlias for the past 3 years I use nothing but Roseclear. Its very effective. And is excellent for the white powdery mildew that looks very unsightly.
Again I have find cheaper products ineffective. If I were to use the insecticide and fungicide seperately then Id go for BugClear and FungusClear.
Caterpillars - after planting each dahlia I put 4 mothballs evenly around each this keeps the butterfiles off from laying eggs almost 100%.
Earwigs - about a month after planting I mix up a 10 times stronger than standard insecticide in a jug. I then pour this into a 'Fairy Liquid' bottle (or similar) and squirt this down into each cane. I repeat this once more say late July. Also I spray dahlias weekly as a matter of course with the Roseclear and spray around the wooden frameworks. Another method dahlia exhibitors use is when the buds are showing, a few inches below the flowering bud to grease the stems with an inch of Vaseline. My opinion is that on its own this isnt guaranteed effective because I have witnessed an earwig chewing through the Vaseline and anyway earwigs are brilliant climbers and use the leaves as an assault course climbing from plant to plant. Also they fly! Another method I dropped years ago was the old one of straw/paper in an upturned plantpot suspended on the bamboo canes. I found this ineffective.
Weedkiller (strong one) - DEADFAST retails where I live in Cornwall here at around £20 (can buy from EBay but its £6 more) and its brilliant, even on J.Knotweed, and works out cheaper than the likes of Roundup etc. I have found 'cheap' weedkillers are poor in results. As a weedkiller for killing green stuff only but not tough stuff like nettles then Weedol is the one for me.
Insecticide/Fungicide combined - on my dahlias for the past 3 years I use nothing but Roseclear. Its very effective. And is excellent for the white powdery mildew that looks very unsightly.
Again I have find cheaper products ineffective. If I were to use the insecticide and fungicide seperately then Id go for BugClear and FungusClear.
Caterpillars - after planting each dahlia I put 4 mothballs evenly around each this keeps the butterfiles off from laying eggs almost 100%.
Earwigs - about a month after planting I mix up a 10 times stronger than standard insecticide in a jug. I then pour this into a 'Fairy Liquid' bottle (or similar) and squirt this down into each cane. I repeat this once more say late July. Also I spray dahlias weekly as a matter of course with the Roseclear and spray around the wooden frameworks. Another method dahlia exhibitors use is when the buds are showing, a few inches below the flowering bud to grease the stems with an inch of Vaseline. My opinion is that on its own this isnt guaranteed effective because I have witnessed an earwig chewing through the Vaseline and anyway earwigs are brilliant climbers and use the leaves as an assault course climbing from plant to plant. Also they fly! Another method I dropped years ago was the old one of straw/paper in an upturned plantpot suspended on the bamboo canes. I found this ineffective.