Plant protection: care guide

Healthy plants are not a pipe dream: choosing the right plants, caring for them regularly and giving them nutrients suited to the site greatly increase the resilience of your garden plants. Even so, effective plant protection can become necessary in some cases – and then quick, correct action is what counts.

Diagnosis first, then treatment

In general, damage falls into three groups: damage caused by animal pests (voles, slugs, various insects), by harmful fungi (powdery mildew, rust fungi, sooty mould) and by viruses and bacterial pathogens (bark dieback, fire blight). Every successful treatment starts with an accurate diagnosis: observe the plant and document the damage carefully. If you are unsure what is causing the damage, ask a professional in good time – treatment can only succeed if the diagnosis is right.

Prevention rather than cure

Healthy plants are far less susceptible to disease. The most important preventive measures:

• Plant to suit the site and keep plants well supplied: Under-supplied plants are less resilient – water newly planted specimens in particular in good time during dry spells.
• Choose resilient varieties: For fruit, there are varieties resistant to some fungal diseases, and for roses, the breeding of varieties with healthy foliage is far advanced.
• Plant a variety: A diverse mix of plants – as in nature – reduces the spread of disease.
• Rotate your planting: Do not plant annual and biennial flowers or tender tubers and bulbs (gladioli, dahlias) in the same spot year after year.
• Avoid waterlogging: On poorly drained soils, it is worth loosening and improving the soil deeply before planting; do not plant specimen trees and shrubs too deep.

Plant hygiene in everyday care

Often it is enough to pick pests off by hand or blast them off with a strong jet of water. For fungal diseases such as rose rust or black spot, fallen leaves should be collected and destroyed – they carry fungal spores and can cause a new infection even some time after spraying. Clean cutting tools thoroughly after use so that you do not spread pathogens.

When treatment becomes necessary

Many plant protection products today are environmentally friendly and meet the requirements of natural plant protection. Choose preparations that act selectively against particular pests and spare beneficial creatures such as birds, beneficial insects and hedgehogs. Chemical products should only be used when all other measures fail. Apply spray products only on dry, windless days to achieve the best effect.

For mass infestations of pests such as rhododendron leafhoppers and lace bugs on small-leaved evergreens (rhododendron, lily-of-the-valley shrub/Pieris), as well as scale insects on yews, we recommend professional spraying or a soil drench with a systemic product that provides relief for weeks. For rose diseases in particular, a preventive spray during or after bud break has proven effective.

Current problem cases to watch

Rose diseases are among the most common garden problems, and in recent years fungal diseases have become more frequent. Box dieback caused by box blight and shoot dieback caused by Verticillium on Japanese maples and other ornamental trees and shrubs are spreading increasingly. For vine weevils, nematodes offer a biological control method. On request, we will recommend suitable, proven and resilient varieties for your garden.