Living in the High Desert and being passionate about gardening can be challenging at times. Regardless of the care I give my plants, Powdery Mildew, white dusty spots found on leaves and sometimes on stems of plants, have always been an issue in my Rose garden during Fall and Spring; possibly due to the cool weather. I have had a few dieback, and lots of Aphids (plant lice) early this year. I use fertilizers on my plants and I have used fungicide to eradicate them and it worked on and off.
My Roses bloom all year round. This Summer, however, I didn’t see a single bloom and I noticed that the plants were a lot healthier. A couple of days ago, I spotted a Praying Mantis on my Camelot Hybrid Tea Rose and I smiled at the fact that it was there primarily to feed, which in turn helped keep my plants disease free.
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with Praying Mantises, especially with their strange shape. Though I have always known of their advantages in the garden; I had never witness the marvelous results they produce. The Praying Mantises are wonderful insect control in the garden, as they feed on Aphids, caterpillars as well as other harmful and beneficial insects. The Praying Mantis is an insect which does not discriminate.
Other Helpful Garden Insects:
- Green Lacewings
- Assassin Bug
- LadyBugs
- Dragonflies
- Predatory Mites
- Bees
- Centipedes
- Damsel Bugs
- Spiders
- Syrphid Fly
- Ground Beetles
- Ichneumon Wasp
- Trichogramma Wasps
You can read more about the benefits of Praying Mantises here.
By JM Perez
