In the heat of this summer my garden is being destroyed by red spider
mite, to which I have never found a reliable cure. They come back
every year and I've had enough. Does anyone know where I might find a
list of plants which these creatures won't touch ?

In article , peter
duckworth writes
In the heat of this summer my garden is being destroyed by red spider
mite, to which I have never found a reliable cure. They come back
every year and I've had enough. Does anyone know where I might find a
list of plants which these creatures won't touch ?

Really? I have the same problem in my greenhouse, where 40 years of
growing the same cactus plants has resulted in a strain of red spider
mite which seem to be immune to just about any pesticide. I'm now
working my way around biological controls, but since the predator
doesn't like it too cold, it can't be added in winter, and it doesn't
like it too hot and dry, so I'm having problems!

But anything I remove from the greenhouse and place outside recovers
reasonably well - ie still has a few, but not enough to trouble the
plant - and none of the garden plants acquire it. So I'd always thought
of it as purely an indoor pest.

I guess it's the advantage of the higher summer rainfall and lower
temperatures up here :-)

I don't know what's immune, but peppers and aubergines would acquire red
spider even if the nearest source of infection was on the moon. Fleshy
leaved things can survive it - cacti are disfigured but not killed -
whereas thin leaved things -even toughies like ivy - can be killed.

Do you really love your sunny garden? Your best bet might be to try and
make the plant area of it more shady, and to increase the humidity level
by perhaps a large pond.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Kay Easton wrote in message ...
In article , peter
duckworth writes
In the heat of this summer my garden is being destroyed by red spider
mite, to which I have never found a reliable cure. They come back
every year and I've had enough. Does anyone know where I might find a
list of plants which these creatures won't touch ?

Really? I have the same problem in my greenhouse, where 40 years of
growing the same cactus plants has resulted in a strain of red spider
mite which seem to be immune to just about any pesticide. I'm now
working my way around biological controls, but since the predator
doesn't like it too cold, it can't be added in winter, and it doesn't
like it too hot and dry, so I'm having problems!

But anything I remove from the greenhouse and place outside recovers
reasonably well - ie still has a few, but not enough to trouble the
plant - and none of the garden plants acquire it. So I'd always thought
of it as purely an indoor pest.

I guess it's the advantage of the higher summer rainfall and lower
temperatures up here :-)

I don't know what's immune, but peppers and aubergines would acquire red
spider even if the nearest source of infection was on the moon. Fleshy
leaved things can survive it - cacti are disfigured but not killed -
whereas thin leaved things -even toughies like ivy - can be killed.

Do you really love your sunny garden? Your best bet might be to try and
make the plant area of it more shady, and to increase the humidity level
by perhaps a large pond.

I suspect a pond would help, nice idea. The nasty mites have started
invading the shady side of the garden too - all over a climbing rose.