Hemerocallis gall midge

[Palustris]

Just found these on one of our early flowering plants. The buds are rotting and inside are little white grubs (2mm). The nasty thing is that it is usually confined to South East England. Either remove all the buds and burn or soak the plant in systemic insecticide. I am not organic in the flower dept, so have done both.

[Palustris]

[Trillium]

Hi Palustris,

I've got the same problem - see below - and I'm in the north west, so it looks like it's made it countrywide.  I've picked off the affected buds and destroyed them - is there anything else I can do?

Trillium

[Palustris]

Hi, it was your posting on the Beeb which made me look, both to answer you and at my own plants. Since then I have spent a few hours searching and as far as I can ascertain there is little else one can do, except hope for a very hard Winter.
Eric

[Trillium]

Hi - I thought it might be one and the same person but wasn't sure.

This has to be one of the worst pests I've come across, it knocks greenfly and the odd slug into the shade.  I'm seriously considering cutting all my hemerocallis flowerheads back to try and break the cycle.  Thought I'd post the pic so that others can check theirs.

I had lily beetle for the first time last year which did some damage, but at least they are easy to see and remove!

[Palustris]

Just found some on another plant. Only half the buds seem affected. Going to try soaking the plant in a systemic insecticide and see what happens. But otherwise it is remove the buds and grow later flowering hybrids.

[Palustris]

Just returned from Bodnant Gardens in North Wales and some of their Hemerocallis also have this same problem!

[moonbells]

I've had them for years on one clump of my plants. Each year I carefully snap off all affected buds when they are tiny and bin them, and each year the problem's still there.

If you are affected and can't shift the horrible things, then grow late-flowering ones. The July/August ones don't tend to get hit. It's just the June ones. I've got a fantastic H. Franz Hals which is as happy as can be and flowers for weeks.

moonbells