Still no flowers

The cold weather continues. There's very little sunshine and vry little warmth so the flowers are really on a "go slow." We've had to tell some of our customers that we cannot supply them - and we hate doing this.

But the fact is that all other growers are having the same trouble. There are just few gerberas about right now and there's nothing we can do about it, except wait for the warmer weather.

Our friends at Maleny are having trouble with mealy bug - a tiny white bug that looks like small pieces of cotton wool that cling to the crown of the plants. They are a challenge to get rid of, and I remember when we had them. They need a good drenching of a special insecticide.

A real pain - but we haven't seen any for a long time now. We still have some trouble with a little brown moth - seems to resist all efforts to get rid of it, but it is manageable. A bit frustrating though at the moment as any damaged flower is another flower "lost" when we are so short. Here's hoping the weather will warm up a bit.