Question
Thanks for the info on petunias and aphids. I too am on the north shore of Long Islandnd. In the past I always had a garden (out in the yard) with many many petunias and never once noticed any problem with aphids. Now, living in an apartment, I am limited to container gardening. Last summer I filled my balcony planters with vinca and trailing wave petunias purchased from Home Depot. After about 6 weeks, and wondering why the plants were not doing as well as I was used too, I noticed those ugly white bugs and the plants went down hill from there. This year I purchased from a local gardening center hoping for better luck. Again planting the vinca and trailing petunias. Right now the plants have lush dark green leaves with tons and tons of flowers trailing almost 3 ft. They make my heart sing! This weekend while deadheading faded blooms what do I see?! Those ugly white bugs - aphids - again! It saddens me to think one of my favorite parts of summer - flowers - will be eaten away. If lady bugs can prevent this, please advise where I can purchase them. Thanks!

Answer
Hicks sells them by the small container on Jericho Turnpike.

They make a serious effort to offer a broad selection of organic merchandise, but they sell it right next to their traditional concentrated fertilizers and pesticides.  The Hicks staff has limited understanding of how it works, with the exception of one well trained man who never seems to be around when I walk in looking for him but is very knowledgeable--I know because I did meet him once and I grilled him up and down about several points to see how much he really knew.  He had no idea why I was asking him all those questions, so I have to assume he would share that knowledge with anyone who asked.

Hicks is making a big effort, so I have to give them a lot of credit -- their customer base is larger but less educated and less affluent than the typical North Shore shopper.  The more people who go in there voting with their dollars, the more seriously they will take this business.

The only one that comes close is Martin Viette.  Unfortunately Viette is no longer the family business it used to be and is run very differently.  The trouble is that Viette staff has enough training that they think they know what they're doing and they give out the wrong information.  I saw them pushing a certain kind of 'beneficial' snail once that was not beneficial at all, but it was getting a lot of attention at the time and they were not informed about the downside of that arthropod.  After one season they took it off the shelf and stopped talking about it, but I wonder how many people listened to them and let a permanent pest with no natural predators out on their own property.  That can be a real disaster if you don't know what you're doing.

I know that Hicks never did that to anyone.  MV hires its store personnel straight out of Farmingdale Agricultural College, at minimum wage, and assumes they will know enough to give out advice.  They are younger, they are paid less than at Hicks, and they are selling a much more limited product line than Hicks -- so I go to Hicks and I direct people there, too.

Container gardening will give you a lot of pleasure, especially if you get lots of sun.  HID lights are an option if you don't have enough light -- many outdoor patios are deliberately shaded for the comfort factor.

Last thing -- make sure please those are not those cottony Mealybugs you have.  Check this link to make sure: http://www.naturescontrol.com/mealybug.html

The usual Ladybugs will eat baby Mealybugs, but not adults.

For adult Mealybugs, you can use a special Ladybug or something called a Pirate Bug, described in the link above at the Nature's Control website.  Don't be too quick to buy those -- simply wiping them off with a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol will eliminate the grownups.

Finally, I have to note as well since you have not purchased these in the past that you may end up with several hundred Ladybugs in your purchase.  Sounds like overkill!  Find someone to share them with to keep them well fed.  Anyone with a Rose Garden will need them.  Just make sure they have not sprayed pesticides all over before you get there.

Thanks for writing, neighbor, and keep me posted!