A few weeks ago, dear friends Kara and Ish stayed with us and brought over a potted Peace Lily for us to enjoy. I think of them every time I look at the flowers.
I planted the Peace Lily in our garden where it was very happy but it looked like I needed more to fill that space.
There weren't any lilies like it at the stores I went to so I looked online to see if it was possible to propagate it.
Don't you love the Internet?
I found instructions on how to do it.
I lifted out the plant from the soil where it was growing contentedly and separated the rhizomes.
I was able to get five plants!
I then spaced them out and planted them carefully.
I gave them a boost of Miracle Grow and am now keeping my fingers crossed that they will grow and multiply. I hope slugs don't like Peace Lilies because they totally denuded the Impatiens I had there. Like I said... I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
POSTSCRIPT 1:
Doggone it!
Several days later, It looked like the Peace Lily was doing very well.
Then I looked closely.
The leaves were being eaten after all!
Slugs!
Arrghhh!
DJan of DJanity mentioned beer baits for slugs. I looked online and it appears to be one solution. I'm going to get some beer today. And if there's extra (beer, that is) so much the better.
POSTSCRIPT 2:
We bought a case of beer to get our slug trap ready.
However, I've looked every night for a week and haven't seen any slugs. So what ate the leaves? I don't know.
The rest of the leaves appear untouched since that day of discovery.
So now...
What do I do with all that beer? Hmmmm...
I planted the Peace Lily in our garden where it was very happy but it looked like I needed more to fill that space.
There weren't any lilies like it at the stores I went to so I looked online to see if it was possible to propagate it.
Don't you love the Internet?
I found instructions on how to do it.
I lifted out the plant from the soil where it was growing contentedly and separated the rhizomes.
I was able to get five plants!
I then spaced them out and planted them carefully.
POSTSCRIPT 1:
Several days later, It looked like the Peace Lily was doing very well.
Then I looked closely.
The leaves were being eaten after all!
Slugs!
Arrghhh!
DJan of DJanity mentioned beer baits for slugs. I looked online and it appears to be one solution. I'm going to get some beer today. And if there's extra (beer, that is) so much the better.
POSTSCRIPT 2:
We bought a case of beer to get our slug trap ready.
However, I've looked every night for a week and haven't seen any slugs. So what ate the leaves? I don't know.
The rest of the leaves appear untouched since that day of discovery.
So now...
What do I do with all that beer? Hmmmm...
It's a good way to make more plants. All the best to their survival.
ReplyDeletehope they survive.
DeleteIt sure looks like slugs to me. You also might try copper to surround the plants, that has seemed to work well for my strawberries. And I think the plants will survive anyway. Well done! Keep me posted as to their progress, I'm interested. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou and Art and Mom should have a little garden party; sit and drink to the Peace Lily. :)
ReplyDeleteI get rid of slugs with salt sprinkled on their trail. How did we ever manage before the internet and google? I received a new FitBit for my birthday and thanks to google I now know all about how to operate it.
ReplyDeleteOh the trials of gardening. It looks so odd to me to see a Peace Lily outside but then I remember it's the Hawaii thing. I'd never dealt with slugs until I moved to Oregon. I hate those slimy things. When I plant something they munch on I immediately pull it out and get rid of it. I only have pot plants on my patio so I can afford to do that. I have no plants they like and still I see their slimy trails on the patio every morning. Good luck with your Peace Lilly.
ReplyDeleteLilies are easy to divide. Sorry about the slugs. There are some organic poisons out there that keep slugs away but I cannot remember the name. Beer does work, though. Maybe it was just one small infestation.
ReplyDeletePut out the beer anyway. Or have a party. :)
ReplyDeletesave the beer the slug may return...lol!
ReplyDeleteMaybe your neighbor got one Damn Rabbit: http://jalna.blogspot.com/2013/04/damn-rabbit.html
ReplyDeleteI remember that post of yours. Our neighbors were babysitting a bunny a year ago and used to let that bunny roam free. It wasn't really smart to do that. It did come to our garden to snack for a while.
Deletemaybe the plants can still survive!
ReplyDeleteWhat to do with the extra beer? Kampai!!! (or is it kanpai???) Do you know that where I live, we have lots of wild chickens, and not even those chickens will eat the slugs. They must be gross-tasting!
ReplyDeleteMy son-in-law will be here in a few days and I don't think the beer will sit there for long.
DeleteSluggo is non-toxic snail bait that I used often on the mainland. We fight the beetles here in East Hawaii, grrrr! Our neighbor's wandering chickens have helped the pest problem greatly, thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteNow your impatiens in the bush grow about three ft. high. It would take an elephant to eat their leaves(well maybe not an elephant). Impatiens here grow about three or four in high.
ReplyDeleteLovely plants, but slugs can do a real number on them, can't they? Beer is best!
ReplyDeleteWhat to do with beer? If you don't know by now... You know K reading over your posts that I missed it really shows what a great blog you have
ReplyDeleteAwwww... Cloudia... You are too kind. Thank you so much. You know how much I love visiting you.
Deletewow I learned from your blog, I'm an accidental gardener, I see what I like and buy it having no idea how to care for it other than the tag. I have purple calla lilies and now I can try your method instead of buying them. I only like purple not the white. I've seen slugs going up my rose branches too. And something kept eating only my chinese parsley....until every leaf was gone and it died. With the new one, I have to put it on the grill to keep it out of reach. It's also weird, that I grow spinach and no bugs eat it, I'd think it was a leafy salad for bugs. BB
ReplyDeleteI just read on line that I shouldn't water my plants at night because the slugs like the wetness and will come out. It said mornings are better when the soil has a chance to dry out. You should have seen my Impatiens. It was bald down to the root. Awful! I love calla lilies. I'd love to plant that someday once I know I can stop the slugs.
Deletehope your peace lily continues to do well despite the eaten leaves. your garden is very nice looking. hope all is well.
ReplyDeleteI'd never know what to do with that beer, I've never drank a sip and Daisy doesn't drink. Just leave it at some college. It'd disappear eventually
ReplyDeleteWell, this is new - seeing you gardening! I like it!
ReplyDeleteI have a peace lily that a young man that is a special friend gave me when my mother died. After over four years it is still doing very well, and does bloom occasionally. Of course here it is a house plant.
Tbey are lovely flowers
ReplyDeleteI have an indoor peace lily, too cold up here! I really must water it, too. We're having a cold spell/ sigh.
ReplyDeleteHi Kay, you may have African snails in your hard - they will eat some of the peace lily leaves and then move on. In the morning, you won't see them there. My parents (and all of their friends) in Mililani have this problem in their yard with African snails everywhere. You might want to try going out in the evening when it's dark and shine your flashlight on your peace lily plants to see if you have snails. My mom takes chopsticks, a container and her flashlight and tries to get al the snails. It's an endless battle but getting better, she says.
ReplyDeleteI've been going out in the evening and haven't found anything lately. I stopped watering at night and I think that made a difference. I still see a few more leaves getting eaten but not as much. I remember those African snails in Waipahu a long time ago.
DeleteWhat is the name of those short spiked plants on the lower right hand corner of your garden? I think this is the plant we used on our garden railroad before -- it propagates very easily. I just can't remember the name of it. :/
ReplyDeleteDwarf mondo grass
Delete