Thrips? Aphids? Earwigs? Never heard of an Aster bug, but all of these will deform a bud or munch it so you don't get a nice opened bloom.

Hi Henry,

The 'Aster' bug here in our region is the leafhopper which transmits a virus to the plants. The virus causes the plant to turn yellow and the flowers are deformed. We have seen this condition in dahlias as well. A member of our specialty cut flower association let an entire greenhouse filled with Karma dahlias go because there wasn't an organic treatment available. How sad is that?

Hope all is well on your flower farm.

Trish

Hi Trish,

Would this be the same disease as Aster yellows? And, how have you treated your dahlias for leafhopper?

By the way, I still owe you the list of cultivars that I'll be planting this spring! From memory...here's a few - Maarn's Orange, Hy Suntan, Brookside Snowball, Arabian Night, Ted's Choice, Cornell, Superstition.

Hope all is well in Michigan!

Henry

Henry,

We treat with Sevin which is labelled for leafhoppers as well as the dreaded Japanese beetles and earwigs. And, yes. Same virus as Aster yellow.

Regarding your list of dahlias, I need some of those Ted's Choice tubers. Maarn is really nice for cutflowers. And, I like Cornell as well -- although a bit stiff in appearance. So, for that reason, we find that we use more Jessie G. Brookside Snowball is a really nice dahlia in bouquets early in the season. Later in the season, it seems to have too much center showing. So, we've been trialing other white dahlias for cutflowers. I am also curious how your Brookside Snowball tubers have been keeping in storage.

It is freezing here in Michigan thanks to a Canadian airmass I do believe! It is, however, spring in the greenhouses.

Trish