Yates Thrive Natural Roses & Flowers Plant Food Concentrate
Developed for boosting prolific beautiful flowers of roses and other flowering plants. Feeds through both leaves and roots for fast results.
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Aethina concolor
What are Hibiscus Flower Beetles?
Hibiscus flower beetles are oval in shape, black or dark brown and quite small, around 3mm in size.
Hibiscus beetle chews holes in both the flowers and foliage of hibiscus, related plants like abutilon, plus roses and dahlias. They generally hide in the folds of flowers, or inside buds. Tattered flowers and foliage aren't just unsightly, the damage can be very stressful to the target plants.
Symptoms
Affected flowers usually open with holes already chewed in the petals. Leaves can also show signs of damage. Healthy plants often respond to hibiscus beetle attack by prematurely dropping damaged flower buds, so if you notice flowers falling off early, it's wise to check for beetles.
How to Protect Your Plants
The beetles are active during flowering periods and can produce many generations each year. Because the beetles conceal themselves inside buds, it's difficult to reach them with contact insecticides.
The beetles prefer pale-coloured or white flowers over the brighter colours. If you find beetles, remove the flowers from the tree and dispose of them. Give plants a regular feed with Yates Thrive Natural Roses & Flowers Organic Plant Food to boost future flower production, plus reduce the overall stress on the plant.
For an organic control method, make traps: find a few empty ice cream containers (or similar), place them underneath affected plants, then half-fill with soapy water. Check your traps every few days or so, empty, and refill.
Plants Impacted
- Hibiscus
- Abutilon
- Roses
- Dahlias
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