BAGWORMS

Design and InstallationGarden Caregarden TriviaIndoor plantsPlant Health CareUncategorized
Written By Peter Morris

Bagworms – Nature’s Holiday Ornament !

   Bagworms are the larval (caterpillar) stage of a moth that is rarely seen. Only the males develop into moths capable of flight. The adult female is grub-like and remains inside the bag until just before she dies. 

Female caterpillar

 

Male moth

 They are perennial pests of arborvitae, juniper, hinoki, as well many other evergreen species. Attacking also some trees such as black locust, honey locust, and sycamore. Most often they prefer stressed or diseased plants. 

They LOVE Arborvitae !

 Eggs pass the winter inside the bag from the previous year’s female. In Spring theses hatch, and the larvae crawl out from the end of the bag and hide in the foliage. By using silk and bits of plant material, they soon construct a small bag around their hind part. Adult female insects are not very noticeable the first three weeks of their life then suddenly a multitude of bags are seen dangling off the foliage!Amazingly they also spread from one location to another by a process called “ballooning”. After hatching, some of the larvae will climb as high as they can, stand on raised legs with their abdomen pointed upwards ("tiptoeing"), and then release several silk threads into the air. These quickly form a triangular shaped parachute which carries them away with even the slightest breeze.Treatment must begin soon after they bags noticed and continued through the growing season. If untreated, they will consume every last bit of foliage they find until the tree or shrub is reduced to twigs! Once an area has had bagworms, seasonal treatments are recommended every year as a preventative. 

Our Plant Health Care Team can get treat and get rid of these funky creatures for you !

Call us - let's talk Bagworms !

  

PLANT SPECIALISTSGREENING NEW YORK FOR OVER 53 YEARS !

   Article written by our Staff Horticulturist, Peter B Morris, BSc, MSc, MBAAll photographs used with permission @SHUTTERSTOCK

Peter Morris

Peter was born and raised on a beautiful green island in the midst of a tropical rainforest. He was introduced into the world of plants at the age of six when his grandmother, an avid Spanish gardener herself, asked him to help her grow seeds for her pepper garden. He was hooked! By the time he was a teen, he had his own rose and orchid collection numbering in the hundreds. Botany was in his blood, and that is what he set out to study.

His passion brought him to NY in the late seventies to further his education. His tenacity allowed him to work full time at Plant Specialists while he completed a MS in Plant Biology. As a manager at the time he felt unsatisfied with his knowledge of business and business processes. Peter felt compelled to learn, so he then pursued and completed an MBA in Quality Management within a few short years.

Peter’s other passion is teaching. His natural ability is quickly consumed by our staff in all subjects in Botany, Horticulture, and Landscaping. He created an immense reference library of more than 3,500 plants providing an invaluable resource for our staff.

Peter’s breadth of knowledge and wisdom allows him to effectively diagnose the needs of plants. Sometimes just by walking into a garden he can create a prescription that fixes even the hardest issue. He is our Staff Botanist, Diagnostician, and all around Mentor. Recently, he has put his immense knowledge and skills into developing a new department that focuses on Plant Healthcare. As he puts it, “Magic through Science”. The PHC staff that surround him have avidly consumed his teachings. Substantially developing their own plant wisdom, many have taken on difficult plant health issues with spectacular results.

Plant Healthcare has been an instant success with customers! The proper treatment of insects and diseases including Organic methods has made pest control a necessity for every plant. Correcting hormonal imbalances caused by planting in containers or refurbishing soils leached of nutrients by irrigation systems are big challenges PHC has become quite comfortable addressing. The scientific approach to the complex demands of keeping plants healthy in our harsh city environment has made many a customer say WOW!

Previous

CACTI FOR INDOORS
Next

THE ISSUES WITH BOXWOOD