Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Gareth Carter: Hot summer causes explosion in insect numbers

By Gareth Carter
Whanganui Chronicle·
13 Mar, 2020 04:00 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

After a hot summer there has been an explosion in insect numbers including whitefly, aphids, mites, scale and thrip on many plants.

After a hot summer there has been an explosion in insect numbers including whitefly, aphids, mites, scale and thrip on many plants.

GARDENING

The past week has had a number of cool mornings with a distinctly autumn feel about them.

The cool start has for the most part given way to glorious warm hot days.

A couple of plants that I associate with autumn are the Chilean guava and the feijoa.

I have an exceptionally early variety of feijoa growing at home and the first ripe fruit have fallen this week.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The fruit of the Chilean guava are just starting to get towards harvest size and give off their delicious perfume.

My youngest son adores this fruit and gained a good snack from Grandma's Chilean guava plant during the last weekend.

READ MORE:
• Premium - Gareth Carter: Prickles, moss, weeds - how to keep your lawn pristine this summer
• Premium - Gareth Carter: Growing your own avocados is rewarding
• Premium - Gareth Carter (Gardening): Lawns, vegetables, flowers and weeds - it's all to do this spring
• Premium - Gareth Carter: Hanging baskets can create an area of beauty

The name Chilean guava is the common name for the bush given that the plant originates from Chile where its fruits are grown commercially, exported to Japan and sold locally.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The other common name "NZ cranberry" is often a source of confusion, as other than the look of the fruit, the plant growth and fruit taste are nothing similar to the "real" cranberry.

The Chilean guava produces attractive white flowers during spring and then forms round red berries (about 0.5-1.5cm across) during the summer months.

Discover more

Coronavirus: Testing and self-isolation in Whanganui

11 Mar 04:01 PM

Rain eases fire risk - total fire ban lifted

11 Mar 04:00 PM

On The Rocks Festival set to launch in May

12 Mar 04:01 PM

100,000 infected, 3400 dead - truth the best defence against coronavirus

12 Mar 04:00 PM

Towards late February and during March these berries reach maturity.

It is the ripening berries that produce the delicious smell. They are also delicious to eat fresh as well as being suitable for making juices, jams and other preserves.

The plants yield quite well with a 3-year-old plant producing about 1kg of fruit which will increase by about 1kg a year subsequently.

The plants themselves have a number of landscaping uses.

If left unchecked they will grow to 1.5m x 1m. They are best trimmed each year after fruiting to maintain some form, otherwise they can become a rather straggly and leggy bush.

They are great grown in a courtyard situation where the scent when fruiting coincides with barbecue season.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The plants can be kept trimmed to size as the space available allows, by pruning after fruiting each year.

They are suitable for containers and patio situations where their drought-hardy tendencies can be useful, though lack of water can affect fruit quality.

The fruit of the Chilean guava are just starting to get towards harvest size and give off their delicious perfume.
The fruit of the Chilean guava are just starting to get towards harvest size and give off their delicious perfume.

The Chilean guava is regularly grown as a topiary.

Its dense-forming habit and small leaves make it an ideal candidate as a successful topiary which offers not just good form but the added value of scent and fruit.

They also make a marvellous fruiting hedge.

Their leaves resemble those of buxus, though slightly more rounded, and their dense-growing habit right from the base of the plant makes the Chilean guava a great hedge to consider.

The growth habit is much faster than buxus, allowing establishment of a 30cm-high hedge in about two years or less rather than three to four years.

The trade-off of a faster growing hedge is that it will need trimming two to three times a year to maintain a tidy look.

Culturally they are an easy care plant. The main insect offender to be aware of is thrips. These will often attack plants that become stressed from drought, but are easily controlled with an insecticide such as Yates Mavrik if it becomes a problem.

They are hardy to around -6C and are happy growing in full sun or part shade.

They are tolerant of salty air but perform far better if they are out of the prevailing wind in a slightly more sheltered situation. They grow best in fertile well-drained soil; however, being very versatile they will also grow well in clay and even in sandy soils.

Pest watch

After a hot summer there has been an explosion in insect numbers including whitefly, aphids, mites, scale and thrip on many plants.

The rain a week ago created more humidity which is now showing up many cases of blight, mildew and other fungus infections.

What to look for now: Maintain vigilant monitoring on crops for whitefly and caterpillar damage on tomatoes and cucurbits – it is wise to spray at first sign to keep the population down for as long as possible. (Population can build rapidly and once in large numbers control is significantly more difficult).

Mavrik is a good control – concentrate on the new growth where the pest is worst.

Spraying with Grosafe Freeflo Copper mixed with Enspray 99 is recommended to control powdery and downy mildew on cucurbits and to protect tomatoes from blight.

Another prevalent pest at this time of year is passion vine hopper, which attacks a wide range of plants. Insect sprays Mavrik and Pyrethrum will control this.

Citrus

It has been a good season for growth and fruit development on citrus but be wary, I have recently seen a lot of citrus covered in sooty mould and closer inspection shows the cause – a heavy infestation of scale on the undersides of leaves.

Now is the time to apply a spray of Yates Mavrik combined with 10ml per litre of Grosafe Enspray 99 to kill the invaders and protect the new season growth which will ensure good fruit production.

A follow-up spray later in March would be advisable.

Now is also a good time to fertilise citrus and ensure they are being watered deeply.

The plants will have fruit formed on them now and if they become stressed due to drought, fruit may drop or quality can deteriorate.

If your citrus are growing in pots or containers then ensure you use a specialist citrus fertiliser that is suitable, such as Burnets Gold Citrus Fertiliser.

If leaves are showing signs of yellowing then a liquid fertiliser feed of Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food is highly recommended and will give quick results to green the leaves up.

Remember, a well fed, well watered healthy tree will be far less prone and more resilient to insect and disease attacks.

The addition of Saturaid re-wetting granules to citrus growing in containers is highly recommended. This product should be applied annually - it channels water to the root zone where it is needed most.

It promotes even water distribution so there is less water run-off and dry spots in potting mix and soils. It makes watering, rainfall and fertiliser more effective. It can also be used in the garden, even in sandy, clay or compacted soils.

Have a good week.

• Gareth Carter is general manager of Springvale Garden Centre.

NewsletterClicker
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
Opinion

Gardening: Pruning deciduous fruit trees and roses

04 Jul 04:00 PM
Premium
Lifestyle

Gareth Carter: My favourite flowering plants for winter cheer

27 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
Lifestyle

Gareth Carter: Plants to attract birds

20 Jun 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
Gardening: Pruning deciduous fruit trees and roses

Gardening: Pruning deciduous fruit trees and roses

04 Jul 04:00 PM

July is ideal for winter pruning to maximise fruit production.

Premium
Gareth Carter: My favourite flowering plants for winter cheer

Gareth Carter: My favourite flowering plants for winter cheer

27 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
Gareth Carter: Plants to attract birds

Gareth Carter: Plants to attract birds

20 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
Opinion: Winter planting tips for garlic, onions and more

Opinion: Winter planting tips for garlic, onions and more

13 Jun 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP