Gulf frits totally out of hand

bkay2000

14 years ago

I have been inundated with butterflies this year. At any given time, you can see multiple GF flying around. Constance Elliott is their favorite. It's almost denuded. The other type, which I think is a maypop has tons of caterpillars on it, but still has lots of greenery.

I'm beginning to get concerned about my CE. There are almost no leaves left. It seems like every stem has a caterpillar on it. When this plant was young, I kept the caterpillars picked off it. After it got big, I quit worrying about it.

Now, I'm worried. I would hate to lose it. I would also hate to have to pick off all those caterpillars.

Any ideas?

barbara

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Comments (2)

louisianamark
14 years ago
Hi Barbara,

I'd find a few pieces of vine/stem that haven't been chewed, and take cuttings from them. When the cats run out of leaves, they will eat the green off of the stems, and can kill the mother plant.

Good luck!
Mark
bkay2000
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, Mark

I decided to start picking them off. 20 or 30 a day should help. I also have one across the yard that I can take cutting off of if I have to. It's young, so they just started on it. I think I can control them there as they are pretty visible. Next year, I won't let them get started on my big CE, if it survives.

I don't understand why they like the CE so much. They'll ignore my blue crown and maypop. It must be really tasty and tender.

Thanks again.

Barbara
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