The first time hornworms devoured my potentially fabulous tomato plants, I discovered I was the one to blame for the devastation.
Near my container of tomatoes, I was also growing the sweetly scented moonflower vine that is pollinated by the moth that lays the eggs that turn into the tomato or tobacco hornworms.
The two pests look so much alike and eat the leaves of the same plants that I'm not sure exactly which I encountered.
I do know the moonflowers might as well have been neon signs announcing: "Eat at Chris' Tomato Leaf Buffet."
That lesson was well learned. No moonflowers and tomatoes grow in my garden in the same season. In fact, I pretty much gave up both of them.
That's why I was taken by surprise when most of the lush leaves on my gorgeous ornamental eggplant, Solanum Integrifolium, disappeared into the mouth of a hornworm.
The creature I found hiding under one of the few remaining leaves had grown to 31/2 fat inches of green mean.
I clipped off the leaf with the worm, took it the edge of a wooded area and smashed it under my foot.
You can also toss them into a bowl of soapy water. Bad infestations of small worms can be treated with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a bacteria that destroys caterpillars when they ingest it but is harmless to other insects.
But to stop the destruction by large caterpillars, you need to act quickly to remove them.
My first hornworm was covered with rice-like organisms that are the egg sacks of tiny parasitic wasps that will burrow in their backs and kill them. If you let the eggs hatch, the harmless wasps will defend your garden against all kinds of pests.
The latest hornworm at my house had no such encumbrances.
I've continued to water the plant, and it appears to be recovering.
If all goes well, I hope to be harvesting several stems with orange pumpkin-like fruit to add to fall flower arrangements.
Horticultural Therapy Workshop
The Memphis Botanic Garden is hosting a daylong annual Horticultural Therapy Workshop on July 23.
Dr. Douglas Airhart, a master horticultural therapist and professor of horticulture at Tennessee Tech University, will be the main speaker. He is also a past president of the American Horticultural Therapy Association and a certified arborist.
Topics will include goals and benefits of horticulture therapy, plant basics, getting funding, horticultural craft demonstration and adapting gardens and gardeners.
This program is aimed at recreational, occupational, physical and clinical therapists, social workers, vocational trainers, master gardeners and community volunteers.
The $25 registration fee includes a box lunch from Fratelli's Café at the Garden and admission to the garden. For more information or to register, call Laurie Williams at 636-4128.
Chamberbitter weed presents dilemma
Heavy spring showers are responsible for an abundant outcropping of weeds, said Dr. Chris Cooper, horticulturist and agent for Shelby County Extension.
One of them, the mimosa-like chamberbitter , has been plaguing Germantown resident Dawn Goodwin.
She has been reluctant to use pre-emergent herbicides for fear it will inhibit the desirable reseeding of plants like columbines, Shasta daisies and dianthus the following year.
Pre-emergent products, such as Preen, actively inhibit root formation of germinating seeds for about four months.
"It doesn't know the difference between a weed seed and a desirable seed," Cooper said.
The good news is it won't keep seeds that drop this year from germinating next spring. The bad news is Preen doesn't do much to deter the seeds of chamberbitter whenever it is applied.
Other pre-emergents applied twice in the spring such as Ronstar 2G, Snapshot, Factor and Gallery may help, but they will inhibit those desirable seeds, too.
Because chamberbitter seeds need light to germinate, it's best to add more mulch to beds after pulling out the plants.
Round-Up and similar products will kill chamberbitter and every other plant with which they come in contact.
An easy way to apply it to only the bad guys is by using a dish-washing sponge device with a hollow plastic handle for holding detergent.
Fill the handle with the herbicide and use it to sponge away undesirables. You can usually find the sponges at dollar stores.
Questions or comments? E-mail Christine Arpe Gang at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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