Today I discovered white fly in the heated propagator. They had been hibernating in my pot of French plants, originally cuttings that I brought back from a visit to Chatel and Chalon a couple of summers ago. They had made a special home of my prized Tres Glam Lobelia, which I had been determined to keep protected from frost.
The heated propagator doesn't have a lid, so I've been covering the plants with bubble wrap. I know from experience that bubble wrap is a magnet for white fly. My Dad will never use it again after his greenhouse suffered a severe infestation as a result of him following advice and lining it with bubble wrap one winter. I was most surprised to see Monty Don recommending the very same practice to the innocent nation a couple of seasons ago.
I think I might not be very popular with my Dad if I have caused yet another whitefly plague in his greenhouse. Luckily I know they've only been there a day, and I've now removed the lobelia and treated it and the poor chilli seedlings with soapy water. The seedlings were already wilting from the strain of the whitefly. I think I better leave the greenhouse door open today to give it a bit of an airing, and remove bubblewrap.
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