Use the Green Wall Dr for your living wall remedial works.
We can restore green walls to their former glory, treating pests, replacing plants, checking irrigation systems and ensuring living walls function well again so you can enjoy their benefits!
Our client has two living walls which have been sent to the Green Wall Dr.
The first – an interior wall within this Central London Home had certainly seen better days. Irrigation was effective, the planting design was pretty good, light levels ideal – the problem we diagnosed was mealy bug.
These pesky pests are small, oval, sap-sucking insects, 1/10 to 1/4 inch in size, that secrete a powdery wax substance as a protective coating. This coating has a white fluffy appearance, making mealybugs easy to identify when they appear on the stems and leaves of plants. Mealybugs are warm-weather insects, so thrive on interior living walls and in greenhouses.
Mealybugs cause damage by sucking the sap from their host plants, and like many pests, mealybugs tend to enjoy new growth. Over time, their damage causes the leaves to yellow and eventually drop from the plant – a real nightmare for a green wall.
Green Wall Dr spots a mealybug
Here is a perfect example of what a mealybug looks like!
We had to totally replant this living wall for our client – however there are methods which can be used to treat mealy bugs. Natural pest control methods often include the introduction of other pest predators. We often turn to natural pest control specialists Dragonfli for their advice.
When treating mealybug the go to predator is Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, these ‘Ladybird larvae are prolific killers of Mealybugs. Native to Australia, these little predators are highly regarded throughout the world for their effective natural control of Mealybugs on cacti, succulents and many other greenhouse plants. The larvae will feed excessively on Mealybugs until they pupate into the adult Cryptolaemus around 21 days after application.
The initial advantage of using the Cryptolaemus montrouzieri larvae is the sheer number of Mealybugs that will be consumed. The larvae also roughly stay situated in the same area as to where they were released. This makes direct application onto infestations straightforward.
The completed wall looks great, neat tidy pest free and ready for the longer daylight hours to support renewed growth.
Watch this space to see our work on the 2nd living wall.
We are on had with professional expertise to renew and restore all green wall systems to their former glory and if you feel like a totally refreshed replant with different species we are happy to provide new vibrant designs to support the work.
Get in touch with the team email info@pritchardandpritchard.co.uk
