We had a huge daphne bush by our front porch (New England) that has had problems, so we were considering removing it. This year, however, it leafed out splendidly and we were considering a reprieve when I discovered it absolutely covered by whiteflies. My husband is in the process of digging it out and burning it. The trunk is massive. I know whiteflies don’t overwinter here, but how do they come back and what should I do to prevent future infestations? It was right under a hummingbird feeder and we live on a pond with lots of dragonflies, but they obviously didn’t do their job. Can I treat the soil? I have climbing hydrangeas nearby and plan to replace the daphne with a slow-growing binomial cypress.
We had a huge daphne bush by our front porch (New England) that has had problems, so we were considering removing it. This year, however, it leafed out splendidly and we were considering a reprieve when I discovered it absolutely covered by whiteflies. My husband is in the process of digging it out and burning it. The trunk is massive. I know whiteflies don’t overwinter here, but how do they come back and what should I do to prevent future infestations? It was right under a hummingbird feeder and we live on a pond with lots of dragonflies, but they obviously didn’t do their job. Can I treat the soil? I have climbing hydrangeas nearby and plan to replace the daphne with a slow-growing binomial cypress.