I grew some pretty sunflowers in a pot this year but something is voraciously eating the leaves. I don't think it's slugs because there's no slime trail and the stems aren't strong enough to support a snail.
Anyone have any idea what could be doing this?I did a quick Google and found Gardenweb which has a topic about Leaf-footed Bugs which are apparently very attracted to sunflowers, so much so they are sometimes planted between vegetables to keep the little blighters busy and off the carrot crop!
Or:
The sunflower head moth is the major insect pest [for sunflowers]. The moth attacks at flowering time with the larvae feeding on floral parts and tunneling through developing seed. Aphids and whiteflies also can be a problem.
Lots about the Sunflower Moth here - from a Texas site so I presume common in the US!
All the best with them - I used to grow them and the kids had such fun when they got taller than they were - and then the birds used to love the seeds when we laid out the huge heads on the patio for them.
A pic would be lovely! Ide like to sea dawter flowers as wel as sonflowers. am i being politikaly corect?There's a dye plant called dotter. Will that do?Thank you Merry, that's very interesting. I never knew there was such a thing as a sunflower moth.
As for the photo, well, I am no photographer but I will try. If you don't see a picture here soon, it didn't go very well. Just in case it didn't... Van Gogh had one hanging around he wasn't using It's not the actual "taking" of the picture that's the problem, it's working out "how" to use this new fangled digital thing
Oh for the days when you just pressed a button and that was it.I just noticed, there's hardly any leaves on Van Gogh's sunflowers. Maybe the moths ate his as well
