The RHS has warned fuchsia growers that a ‘potentially devastating’ mite has been found on a British plant for the first time.

The fuchsia gall mite (Aculops fuchsiae) was found in a fuchsia sample sent to the RHS Members’ Advisory Service at RHS Garden Wisley. The society said the pest has the potential to spread rapidly, affecting gardens and greenhouses throughout Britain.

The sample, from a private garden near Fareham in Hampshire where it had been growing for about 20 years, was discovered at the beginning of September. Although it had previously been healthy, the plant showed the distinctive distorted growth caused by the mite. Experts believe the pest may have come into the country on imported fuchsia plants or cuttings, and warned that there are likely to be other affected plants in the Fareham area.

Other symptoms include severely malformed leaves that fail to expand at the shoot tips. Flower buds are also severely distorted and unable to develop.

Whilst commercial nurseries should be able to limit infestations with a combination of hygienic production and pesticide sprays, amateur gardeners who only have access to a limited range of persticides may find the mite harder to control, reported the society.

RHS Principal Entomologist Andrew Halstead said, ‘’The fuchsia gall mite is very bad news for anyone who grows fuchsias. The damage the mite causes prevents further growth at the shoot tips and it destroys the flowers. Gall mites are difficult to control with the pesticides available to amateur gardeners and so the only effective treatment may be the destruction of infested plants’’

The RHS urges anyone who suspects they may have the pest to contact their local PSHI office.

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