Caterpillars munching my Brugmansia sanguinea

[Petefree]

My Brug sanguinea is doing pretty well, I thought. It's still only about 18" high but multi-stemmed and plenty of foliage if no sign of any flower buds yet.
However, today I noticed small holes peppering some of the leaves. I turned a few leaves over to find the culprits. small green caterpillars - very small. less than 1cm - possibly Cabbage White Butterfly larvae (wihch are also turning my nasturtiums into doilies) I squashed the 2 or 3 I found on the Brug but am worried I will have missed more as they're pretty tiny.
Has anyone else had the same problem.
So far they're only on that brug - I'm hoping they won't also find the variegated brug in its pot on the patio I got from Phoenix last week.
Pete

[phoenix]

Pete
They're probably Tortix moth catapillars (big clue is if some of the leaves seem to be glued together) if so a contact spray might not get them so a systemic insecticide would work better, something like Provado's "Vinil" it's almost as good as picking them off and squishing them.

[Petefree]

Thanks, Steve - I'll look them up
None of the leaves are curled or stuck together as yet though - just a bit holey!
I could pick the caterpilars off and drop them into the gaping sarracenias...
Pete

[Dave Brown]

I have something eating my Brugs as well. It is my first year growing them, and to be quite honest the plants look such a mess I'm wondering if it is worth growing them. Steve, I get the moth on all sorts of plants from Palms to Colocasia, and I have had a couple on the brugs, but there is something else that eats huge holes between the veins, and I can find nothing on the plants.

[shed]

My 'Maya''s getting fragged out there as well. One side of a leaf (x4 etc...) just disappears over night. The literature i got with the plant noted that its very hard to keep them looking good as just about everything regards them as fine dining. i've seen some very good looking brugs on this website though, including Sanguinea. I'd love to have a big one of those. I'll try a spray and see if it slows them down. good luck with yours!

[Adrian]

No one grows Brugs for the foliage everything has a go at the leaves.
Variegated leaves are a slight upgrade but you have to look through foliage and just see and smell the flowers.

[Dave Brown]

Ade,

This is Sarah's Sanguinea, not a hole in sight That is what I am aiming for

Sarah, what do you do to protect your brugs

[Adrian]

I grew a few sanguineas and come to think of it they didnt seem to suffer as much as other Brugs (root hardy too), they just didnt flower well (for me) and had no scent so I stopped growing them.
That plant above looks flawless, was it taken early on as they can look good until they lose the bigger leaves and go into flowering mode..

[Steph]

I never knew what the bugs were called but I get the stuck together leaves thingy, sometimes they look rolled up. I curse them no end but usually just gas the conservatory with Raid, in the blue can, the fly killer stuff and that does he job for months.

Don't give up on the Brugs though, they are simply divine creatures.

Who has flowers?

Steph

PS thanks to all the people who welcomed me...

[Sarah]

The original pic was taken on 11th July I've just been out and taken this pic, there's a few holes in it and I've just squished a tortrix moth who appeared overnight, but apart from picking off by hand I don't do anything else.

A few of the lower leaves on mine seem to be yellowing and dropping off, but the stem in the centre has just forked naturally so maybe I'm going into flowering mode with a bit of luck

It's grown a bit .....

2 August 2008.JPG

2nd August 2008.JPG

Would smearing a little vaseline around the stem/pot help stop the munchers?

[Steph]

The bugs that grieve me are definitely airborne, eggs are laid in the plant and hatch in situe.
That brug looks so healthy it must be ripe for flowering, I'd be feeding it at least daily and the buds will soon be there. The amount of feed they need seems obscene. Sometimes I go round thinking why am I diluting it...
I want to see the flowers when it blooms.

Steph

[MarkD]

Your Brug sanguinea looks lovely Sarah! How long has it been on the ground for you and how does it fare over winter?

To anyone else growing them permanently on the ground, How does it do for you over winter?

[Dave Brown]

I just found a small green catapillar curled up right in the growing tip of my variegated Brug Snowbank, which has been un touched until yesterday . I'll keep an eye out for this in the growing bud.

[Libby]

I've tried, vaseline, copper strip round the pot and the main stem (on standards) plus slug pellets and I still find small snails at the tops of the brugs, so I think these ones are 'comando' type and parachute in

[pete G]

I agree with Libby, holes with no visable culprit are probably made be snails.

I've been growing sanguinea for quite a few years on and off and I agree with Adrian, a young plant growing vigourously looks lush and leafy, but once they reach flowering size they seem to drop a lot of the lower leaves and look a bit tatty.
That what I find.
I've also overwintered outside, but I dont think the plant in question will get to flowering size before the first frost.

This was last June.