Lilies May 2020 after treating with soapy water

Hi there! Apparently, it is that time of year again: the season of aphids. Aphids are small, come in many colors – although mine are all green, and are soft bodied. Oh, and they love to suck the life out of your plants! The other day I discovered one of my hellebore plants was completely covered in them. I’m not sure how I missed seeing them before it reached this stage, but the plant was infested! As I continued my walk around the garden, I discovered that my lilies were also covered with aphids, not as badly, but nonetheless, covered. The roses didn’t have any, which surprised me because that is the only place I’d usually find them. This post is to help anyone who is trying to get rid of aphids, organically.

Lilac ‘Sensation’ + helleborus foetidus or the stinking hellebore (or in this case, the infested hellebore)

I have to admit that I don’t usually have a huge issue with aphids. Perhaps the ladybirds (ladybugs), a natural predator of them, normally keep them in check. I’ve only ever seen them on my roses, and I can usually get rid of them with my fingers (think: squish – sorry, that’s probably a bit gross). But this time, there were too many aphids on the hellebore plant, and they were well into the lilies, where I couldn’t get to them. So I searched online for organic solutions. The top solution that came up was using a power hose. I guess that is fine if you have a sturdy plant, but anyway, that isn’t an option for me. The next solution was to spray the plant with soapy water. I had my doubts that this would work.

Syringa vulgaris ‘Sensation’ with Syringa v ‘Ludwig Spaeth’ in the background. This is a much nicer picture than of aphids!

Both plants were sprayed down thoroughly. I also removed as many aphids as possible with my fingers (yes, I squished them). I’ve done this over a few days, and both plants look so much better! The lilies seem completely clear, and while the hellebore isn’t completely clear yet, it has only a few left. I’ll be honest with you: I’m going to now cut the hellebore down to the ground since its season is finished anyway. It is advised to continue spraying for a couple of weeks, which I’ll do to the lilies. I used simple dish soap and cold water in a small spray bottle. It really is a simple and safe solution, which I’m happy to share.

The lilies looked beautiful in August last year!

There are no photos of the infestation! I was more concerned with getting rid of them than photographing them. I will hopefully have beautiful photos of the lilies when they bloom in July, though! Please do stay tuned. 🙂

I hope you’ve found this helpful, although I more hope that you won’t need to use it!

Do take care!

In Peace,
Dana

One of our newest members of the flock, very proud of her egg!

I’ve always gardened organically for my family. It seems important now, too, to continue that way for our chickens, especially since we enjoy eating their eggs.

The ‘baby’ chickens are about 6 months old, and our other ones are 1.5 years old. There is a bit of a difference in the size of the eggs!

It has taken a month, but they finally all ‘hang out’ together!