This past spring, I had access to 3 two inch gardenia pieces. Just the very tips, mind you. I brought them home and rooted them. Now, I find there are other creatures that love the gardenia just as much as I do.
There are several, if not many, hybrid gardenias to be had. I don't like them worth a hoot. The blooms are small and their fragrance is almost offensive. As a matter of fact, I gave away 3 August Beauty gardenias just this year.
Give me the old fashioned gardenia, any day. The blooms are huge and the heady fragrance can take you on a trip in a skinny minute. Delicious! No wonder it's the old fashioned type that's used to make the hypnotic gardenia perfumes.
The pieces I rooted are from the old type. I have been babying them along as if they were my own flesh and blood. Now, something has been eating holes in the leaves. I did see a weevil once, but that's all. Whatever it is must be snacking on my babies at midnight.
They are young and tender. I don't want to use insecticide on them. Hair nets to the rescue. That should keep the critters out. And if not, maybe they will get trapped inside the nets and I can kill them in the morning. A twist tie to secure the nets in place and I'm done. When the plants are larger, I doubt this offender will be a problem.
And while I'm on this soapbox, I'll make this tip a two-fer. You can get these nets online; a hundred for about 5 bucks.
Now, there's no excuse for anyone to be in the kitchen, cooking, without one on.
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Four days under the hair nets and a little extra water. Look at that lush new growth....and not one hole.
If this is 'fun', it's my kind of fun.
Nice recovery..
This is a fabulous tip and right on the mark~ I have something eating my hibiscus cuttings and I cannot catch the critter.
Dollar Store to the rescue as I have seen packages (how many in pack?) of similar hairnets and that will be an immediate solution. Maybe a larger quantity later.
I supervise school gardens for the Nutrition Services department of a large school district. When a frost hit last week, we didn't have any frost cloth for seedlings we had transplanted just a week earlier. We grabbed a case of hairnets and saved over 300 plants using this hack. Make a 4-6 inch tall donut hill of soil/mulch around each plant then dig the harnet's elastic into the hill, so some soil can hold it in place.
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