Show from November 6, 2005

Good morning gardeners. It's another lovely day this fall. It was so warm yesterday, I was able to go out without a coat – unbelievable isn't it. And with all this soft rain, you won't need to do any extra watering of your trees or perennials.

You know, I ran into Jennifer Bishop of the Lily Society a few week ago and she gave me some bad new. The lily leaf beetle has finally arrived in Manitoba, probably on some imported bulbs.

Now the lily -leaf beetles is a nasty little critter if there ever was one. You can't miss him: He's bright red when he grows up and about a half an inch in length; While in the larvae stage lily leaf beetles cover themselves with their own excrement so that they will be repulsive to predators – and to us! They overwinter in sheltered places and emerge in April, hungry and anxious to mate. And they don't have to wait for lilies, but are equally satisfied with Solomon's seal, potatoes, hollyhock, bittersweet, and even hosta! The females lay their reddish brown eggs of the undersides of foliage. And when the larvae emerge, the feeding frenzy begins and carries on for 16 to 24 days, at which time, they drop to the soil, pupate and the new adults emerge three weeks later to feed throughout the rest of the growing season.

If you see lily leaf beetles in your garden, you can (uuggh!) Pick them off the plants if there aren't too many. Or you can use Neem oil to kill the larvae and deter the adults.

Neem oil is a fascinating product that is derived from the Neem tree in India, where it's derivatives have been used for just about everything for the past 4,500 years. It's a medium sized tree, reaching 50 feet tall and it lives about 200 years. It produces small, jasmine-scented flowers which turns into small edible fruit. You can grow this tropical plant indoors just like the fig tree with the added advantage that they can do perfectly well in low light.

But Neem is so much more than a simple tree or even a good ornamental tropical. In India, it is often called the village pharmacy, because it is used to treat all sorts of ills – it's rubbed on as a skin treatment, ingested like cod liver oil to ward off disease and its twigs are used as toothbrushes, producing lovely white teeth and healthy gums. But it is in the garden that it really shines because plants treated with neem oil suddenly become very unappetizing to about 400 species of leaf eating bugs – especially the lily leaf beetle. Neem can kill the larvae, but it also interferes with the reproductive abilities of insects by blocking sexual communication. It deters feeding by affecting the ability of the insect to swallow. Neem is probably most effective in disrupting the molting stage of larvae.

It is not a perfect insecticidal product. It is sensitive to light and its effects wear off quickly requiring repeated spraying, but it is effective and very benign to the environment. Not only that, but neem is an excellent fungicide and given the plant fungus problems of the past year or two, that's a welcome trait. By the way, Neem is also an effective anti-mosquito product, more effective than DEET. Neem contains the mosquito repellant sallinin and it's a great skin softener to boot.

In its raw form, Neem smells a bit garllicky, but used in dilute concentrations it is virtually odour free.

In winter time, people use Neem indoors on their plants to shine plant leaves and keep away spider mites and other leaf sucking insects.

Where can you get Neem? Well, we have brought in a limited quantity so if you go to our website at www.localgardener.net and click on Manitoba Gardener tomorrow, you can order there. Or you can call 940-2720 in the morning and Joanne will take care of you.

Well, this morning, I am verypleased to have Mike Allen with us.