I have aphids on my four o'clocks. I have tried soap mixed with water applied with a sprayer and have also used high-yield bug blaster Bifenthrin 2.4 mixed with soap. I cannot get rid of these aphids which are sucking the juice out of my plants which are producing seeds.
These are genetically modified half-and-half colored flowers; it took me 30 years to breed these. In the only pic of flower you can see the red and yellow on same flower, too early for them to open. Somebody please help!
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Plants do not die from aphids invasion but I understand it is ugly to look at, specially when they invade beautiful flowers like yours. I never use any chemicals. I used two simple methods, killed them by hands on small plants and never grow one type of plant only, on one spot, always grow next to it, marigold and calendula which are protecting /repelling plants and nasturtium which will concentrate the aphids.
I have had full scale aphid invasion over the last two summers that damaged my cucumber plants so bad they died. I tried blasting with water, and soap and water. I will try neem and oil and water with soap this year but due to our very hot summers, I think the sun and the oil will cook the plants anyway.
Hello again ! If you want to have new Four o'clock flowers (Mirabilis jalapata), you can collect the seeds, or dig one of its tubers. Grown from seeds or not, Mirabilis japata develops big tubers, which looks like black radishes, you can dig a few, and put them in a pot covered with sand during the cold season and put it back in soil when the temperature rises. It is a way to multiply the plant but also to keep the plant for the next season in places where winter is very hard. It is also necessary after a few years when the plant has developped too many tubers. Wear gloves when handling the tuber and keep seeds in a safe place they are toxic but you can keep them six years before replanting them.
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