Geranium, penstemons and petunias sometimes become infested by budworms. Foliage may be chewed, flowers may open tattered and full of holes or appear dried up and not open at all. Tiny black droppings on the foliage are left behind. The striped caterpillar larval form of a native moth is a close relative of the corn ear worm, the tobacco or geranium budworm. Moths lay eggs singly on host plants. After hatching, the caterpillars chew fully opened flowers and occasionally dine on the leaves. Spraying early on with organic BT is effective if done before the worms burrow inside the flower buds. Remove dried up buds and flowers that may harbor the caterpillars and pull up and destroy ragged, end-of-season petunias that my have eggs sticking to the plant remains. There may be two generations per year so preventative spraying with BT may protect established plants of geraniums or penstemon.
If your fuchsias aren’t blooming and the leaf tips look curled up and deformed, your plants are infested with fuchsia gall mite. First discovered on the West Coast in 1980, it is often mistaken for a disease because of the way it distorts and twists fuchsia leaves and flower buds. The damage caused can be debilitating. The leaves curl and distort so much that normal photosynthesis is disrupted and weakened plants fail to bloom Infested plants usually recover if further mite damage is controlled. Prune off all distorted foliage and buds. This may be the best method of control as petroleum oil or insecticidal sprays need to be made every 4-7 days to disrupt the mite life cycle. Neem oil is not recommended for use on fuchsia flowers.
There are several gall mite-resistant fuchsias, both hanging and upright, that are very bit as showy as the traditional fuchsia varieties. if you have been plagued by fuchsia mites, try growing one of these instead.
