One of Our
Favorite Plants:



Cathedral Hot Rose Penstemon

Perennial

This penstemon is very versatile and likes full sun to partial shade.

It makes a nice border plant since it only gets 12 to 24 inches (30-60 cm) tall, and 12 to 18 inches (30-46 cm) wide.

Not very tolerant of heat, but has large hot pink flowers that are very showy.

Hardy to USDA Zone 5, which means it can take an average annual temperature no lower than minus 20° to minus 10° Faranheight.

So if your area drops below minus 20 at any time of the year, you may want to treat this plant more as an annual.

Print page  |   Email page

CUTWORM
(Noctuidae)

At night, these pesky worms will sever the stems of unprotected seedlings, killing many young plants and transplants in your vegetable and flower gardens.

DESCRIPTION

Adults are brownish or gray moths with 1 1/2 inch (4 cm) wingspans. Larvae are thick, gray or dull brown caterpillars with shiny heads, almost a greasy appearance, and are found in the soil.

LIFE CYCLE

Adults emerge and lay eggs on grass or soil from early May to early June. Eggs hatch in 5 to 7 days. Larvae feed on grass and other plants for 3 to 5 weeks, then pupate in the soil. Adults emerge in late August to early September. Some species of cutworm will overwinter as eggs that will hatch during the first warm days of spring and feed on the earliest seedlings. Cutworms have one generation per year; however, a late second generation is possible and can damage crops in warm fall weather.

PLANTS MOST AFFECTED

Low-growing perennials, annuals, root vegetables, flower and vegetable seedlings, and transplants.

DAMAGE

Caterpillars feed at night on young plant stems at the soil line. A tell-tale sign is that you'll find the severed plants lying on the ground in the morning; seedlings may be completely eaten. During the day, caterpillars rest below the soil surface, curled beside the damaged plant stems.

MEANS OF CONTROL

Prevention:

Use cutworm collars on transplants to shield stems. To make a cutworm collar, simply take small strips of paper or newspaper, lightly wrap the stems of the young plants at the soil level. Make sure the collar is both below and above the soil level so as the cutworm crawls along the ground, it can't eat the stem.

Keep the growing area free of weeds, which might attract egg-laying moths.

Spread diatomaceous earth around the base of plants to discourage egg-laying by adults.

Control:

Apply insect parasitic nematodes to the soil.

Dig around the base of damaged transplants in the morning and kill any hiding larvae.

Because Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) and Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (BTK) can also kill butterfly larvae as well as pest caterpillars, only apply this material to plants that you know are infested with pests and use with great care.