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| Stewart Premium 52cm Thermostatic Electric Propagator |
I bought it via Amazon and you can see more details about it there. It comes with a base within which is the thermostat and probe, then there is a large tray and two smaller ones which fit into the base, and along with that came 10 small plastic pots. I used those and another six besides, so I have fitted sixteen cuttings in individual pots into the base. It's quite room!
It was easy to set up but I couldn't quite make out from the pamphlet whether or not I was supposed to put water in the base. Looking at several YouTube videos demonstrating this propagator, it seems not. Anyway, pelargoniums don't like to be wet, so initially I put the pots with the cuttings into a tray of water for a while, allowing the water to draw up by way of capillary action. Then I put them into the base. The clear lid just pops on top and there are two vents in the top which will be useful because I don't want the cuttings to be damp.
I took the cuttings from old plants which have not fared well over winter. They started off as a beautiful specimens but over the last week or so have declined. I had planned to keep them but they were in such a state, I had to dispose of them.
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| Red pelargoniums brought indoors for the winter |
Why did they decline? It was those nuisance vine weevil larvae that had somehow managed to get into the compost even though I had watered the old plants with a chemical and they had been indoors since last autumn.
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| Vine Weevil larva |
There were only a few that I could see but, even so. I really don't know what I can do about these pests because my garden is under a constant invasion by them. I cannot tell you how much damage they cause. I have lost so many plants because of them, some expensive ones among them. I will tell you this, plants in pots are more prone to attack than those growing in a garden border. I know you can use nematodes to kill the vine weevil larvae, but they are seriously expensive to keep buying. You can find more information about vine weevil control here (RHS external link). #
| Vine Weevil (c) Royal Horticultural Society |
Vine weevils are nothing new to me though. Back in the 80s and 90s, when I had a much bigger garden in another area entirely, they would absolutely devastate fuchsias. The larvae eat the roots of plants and the damage is done before you even know it is happening. I lost a beautiful Japanese maple, which had been expensive to buy, and they even attacked hostas last year to the extent that I just got rid of most of my collection that I had in pots. Instead I have focusing on growing ferns which, so far, seem unattractive to the adult weevil.