Budworms and Flower Buds

Have your Petunias or Geraniums stopped flowering? My petunias just haven't done a thing this year. Now I know why.

Fortunately, when I planted my containers, I included an assortment of annuals. When the petunias stopped flowering I wasn't devastated. I was just confused. Everything else looked lovely. What was wrong with the petunias? It turns out I have a problem with Budworms. If your petunias and geraniums aren't flowering, you may also have budworms. The Tobacco Budworm eats small holes in the buds of these plants. The plants will have nice foliage but no flowers. You can control the budworms by picking them off or using a chemical control. Dennis Patton, K-State Extension, recommends "products with synthetic pyrethroid active ingredients such as permethrin, esfenvalerate, cyfluthrin, bifenthrin, lambda-cyhalothrin or related compounds." With either method, you will have to be vigilant because there will be a second generation in the late summer. This is all just too much effort for me. Next year, I'm passing on the petunias.

© Susan Mertz, June 2006. All rights reserved.

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