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Canna's

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by ChillnPepper on June 25, 2006 04:08 AM
What causes those lil worms that ruin the leaves?! They (the worms) are not in all of my Canna's either. [dunno]

Is there something I am doing wrong? Maybe getting the leaves wet w/lawn sprinkler? [lala]

The worms are a whitis/gray, see-thru-ish type critter, about 1/4-1/2 inch long, cresent shaped and the leaf is full of 'worm dirt' and it seems to be 'stitched up' @ the outer edge. Know what I mean? Whether that is something the worm does or the Cannas do naturally, I have NO idea ...I'm at a loss and I'm missing out on a lot of pretty blooms [tears]

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"Live simply; expect little, give much...scatter sunshine."
M. J. McLeod
~Zone 8a~
by peppereater on June 25, 2006 05:59 AM
Hi Terri. That critter is called something like a canna leaf folder or leaf tier. They don't do a lot of damage or kill the plant, but they can make it look ugly. I have a similar worm attacking my grapevine. I just open the leaves and crush 'em. Most poisons won't penetrate the leaves, but you could use either Dipel dust or Thuricide liquid concentrate to get them before they get the leaves folded. These products are bacillus thurengiensis, a bacteria that's only toxic to caterpillars, and very safe to use. You could try Neem oil or pyrethrin, but like I say, I'm not sure how well it would penetrate. They're not eating the flowers themselves, are they?

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!
by ChillnPepper on June 26, 2006 02:41 AM
Hiya Dave!

No they are not eating the actual flowers BUT it seems that they get a hold of the last leaf to open before the bloom-part is revealed. Result: Brown (burnt looking even! [shocked] ) leaf at the very top, and *sigh...no flowers.

The reason that I was wondering about the method of watering was because the most worm damaged ones are on the side of the yard that gets watered with a sprinkler (Thursdays between 6 & 9 pm!) and the ones on the other side of the yard get watered by hand n hose. Come to think of it, the ones that get watered by hand also do not get as much sun. Hmmmm..anyways! The hand watered ones have substantially fewer casualties.

Of course, by the time I assimilate all of this the damage is done! [nutz] The Canna's were looking SO beautiful this year too! Big, ole, fat leaves....beautiful greenery...*sniff....just beautiful. [tears]

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"Live simply; expect little, give much...scatter sunshine."
M. J. McLeod
~Zone 8a~
by peppereater on June 26, 2006 04:41 AM
Hmmm. I don't know if watering could have anything to do with it, but something must make them more attractive than the others.

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!
by ChillnPepper on June 26, 2006 04:55 AM
I monitor them just about every other day-ish.

There I am with my face down in the Canna's, trusty scissors in hand, ready to cut those weird lil 'stitches'...the neighbors have already decided that I'm a lil [nutz] ! LOL!

So what attack mode are you using on your grapevine pests? Curious minds wanna know [lala]

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"Live simply; expect little, give much...scatter sunshine."
M. J. McLeod
~Zone 8a~
by TulsaRose on June 26, 2006 01:19 PM
Hey Terri...the Canna Leaf Rollers can be a royal pain in the patoot and turn a gorgeous plant into a ratty looking mess. lol! You can get rid of them but it takes persistance.

Here's a great website with instructions that should help you out...seems to be written especially for Texas gardeners. :-)

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/f&b_11.htm

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Rosie z7a
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by ChillnPepper on June 27, 2006 03:13 AM
OMG! Rosie!!!

Thank you so very much! That site is the BOMB of info! [teacher]

Mine are the Lesser Canna Leaf Rollers (Geshna cannalis)...*#%@*'s !!!!

Thanx again Rosie!
[flower]

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"Live simply; expect little, give much...scatter sunshine."
M. J. McLeod
~Zone 8a~
by ChillnPepper on June 27, 2006 03:57 AM
Here's the rub:

quote:
These caterpillars are the larvae of the large brown skipper butterfly . The female butterfly lays her eggs on the leaves of canna. After developing into caterpillars, they spin silk thread and roll themselves inside the edge of the leaves, forming a tube. They feed on the leaf inside the tube as they pupate.
I have a gazillion of these around here! [scaredy]
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AND!
quote:
One mistake that canna growers make is to leave the old dead growth on the canna bed as a mulch. As canna seems to be the only host plant for this pest, it may be possible to drastically reduce the Lesser Canna Leaf Roller population just by removing dead leaves and stems in the winter after the frost has killed back the foliage.
I did remove the dead growth THIS year and the 'rollers' were much more abundant than last year....things that make ya go "Hhmmmmmm...", I'll tell ya.

These Duskywings seem to like this Hackberry Tree (local's call it that) in the front yard.

This is "A Series of Unfortunate Events"..Scurry, TX style [Roll Eyes]

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"Live simply; expect little, give much...scatter sunshine."
M. J. McLeod
~Zone 8a~
by TulsaRose on June 27, 2006 08:42 AM
I'm glad you found some answers, Terri. Those are beautiful little Skippers BTW. :-)

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Rosie z7a
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by njoynit on June 28, 2006 01:15 AM
I've had less problems with the leaf rollers,but I use neem once a month on my whole beds& the cannas are in the path.I DO see those skipper butterflys.

In TX we have to watch when we spray neem cause the sun will fry it on the plants makeing them look ugly.I spray in the evening,but still with time for drying(like 7ish).
I been growing out some of my canna seeds this year.I got excited last week.a purple leafed one!(If they fresh...ya don't gotta soak cause the mix they start in is keept moist.)

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I will age ungracefully until I become an old woman in a small garden..doing whatever the Hell I want!

http://community.webshots.com/user/njoynit03
http://community.webshots.com/user/njoynit
http://photos.yahoo.com/njoynit03
by ChillnPepper on June 28, 2006 04:02 AM
Purple! I love purple! I don't believe I have ever seen a purple one! [flower]

I would love to see a pic of yours someday njoynit!

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"Live simply; expect little, give much...scatter sunshine."
M. J. McLeod
~Zone 8a~
by njoynit on June 29, 2006 08:51 AM
If ya look in my yahoo albulm will be a shot there somewheres with it in bloom summer 2005 albulm.I've just had the one seed pop up purple leafed.I think my purle leafed austrilia canna did set seeds.I think journeys end is going to be a sparse seed setter.I only got 1 last year and just 2 this time and the other 3 stalks have not set any.

I know where you live now scurry.near kaufman [Big Grin] We sometimes go fishing up lake fork off 19 outside of Emory .Its Yantis,but not for all utilities(so backwoods...lol)BIL said waters way down up there right now. I'm not certain,but believe are only 5 purple leafed cannas.I've searched them up quiet a bit. so none of yours are seed setters????????????

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I will age ungracefully until I become an old woman in a small garden..doing whatever the Hell I want!

http://community.webshots.com/user/njoynit03
http://community.webshots.com/user/njoynit
http://photos.yahoo.com/njoynit03
by ChillnPepper on June 30, 2006 03:36 AM
Hmmm.... [dunno] I'm not reeeal sure I know what a 'seed setter' would be if it bit me! LOL!

Mine are the bright yellow flowered ones. They have a really nice lighter shade of green foilage.

Now they do 'make' alot of new ones! I now have them nearly everywhere in the front! I believe they would grow in the street if I threw them out there [Big Grin] !

I always thought they were a bulb plant [thinker]
I would love to get some more colors...just never think about it @ 'gettin' time [Smile]

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"Live simply; expect little, give much...scatter sunshine."
M. J. McLeod
~Zone 8a~
by njoynit on June 30, 2006 10:20 AM
hmmm.....I don't have a yellow one.

I have florance vaughn.It will grow taller in a pond& about 4 ft in ground.
http://www.karcheskycanna.com/

I have this indica type.IT makes seeds [clappy]
They don't carry the one I have....BUT it looks like this& although you can't notice the orange stripe on the red ....my stripe is yellow on orange.
http://www.karcheskycanna.com/

and I have these.Bengal tiger
http://www.karcheskycanna.com/

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I will age ungracefully until I become an old woman in a small garden..doing whatever the Hell I want!

http://community.webshots.com/user/njoynit03
http://community.webshots.com/user/njoynit
http://photos.yahoo.com/njoynit03
by ChillnPepper on June 30, 2006 10:41 AM
Those are VERY cool!
Mine are like the Yellow Humbert
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except that the leaves always extend above the blooms and the fact that I really never noticed any 'red spots' either....

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"Live simply; expect little, give much...scatter sunshine."
M. J. McLeod
~Zone 8a~

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