Melinda's Garden Moment Radio Tips
Melinda Myers
Nationally known gardening expert, TV/Radio host, author & columnist with over 30 years of horticulture experience and tons of gardening information to share! www.melindamyers.comMelinda's Garden Moment videos will help you create that beautiful landscape you’ve always wanted. Each week throughout the growing season, a new gardening video will be added right here, so be sure to stop back. You can also watch Melinda’s Garden Moments on your local network TV station affiliate.
Clipped and dangling coneflowers, sunflowers, and some of the other members of the aster family mean the sunflower head-clipping weevil is busy at work in your garden.
The shiny black weevil feeds about 1 to 1 ½ inches below the flower. They eat a ring of small holes around most of the flower stem. Enough tissue remains so the flower head falls over yet it hangs on a thin bit of tissue. The female enters the flower to feed on the pollen and lay eggs. The flower eventually falls to the ground, eggs hatch and the immature weevil, a worm-like larvae, moves into the ground for winter. Next spring the larvae pupates, then transforms into a weevil and starts feeding on the flower stems in mid-summer.
Remove clipped flower heads from the plant and drop them in a can of soapy water. This kills the adult weevil and reduces the risk of future infestations.
A bit more information: Fortunately this pest is not life threatening, just annoying. Once discovered, monitor plantings to minimize damage and further reduce future infestations.