It’s been a few weeks since I updated regarding my balcony garden.

This was my ranunculus on April 3:

Green and sturdy.

Here’s what they look like today, about 3 weeks later:

What in the world happened to my ranunculus!!?

They’ve been like this for about a week now.  At first, I thought it was the heat wave we had and that they were wilting as a result of the nearly 100-degree weather.  I was more diligent about watering and moving them out of the hot sun.  However, it’s been cool for a few days now and still no improvement so I decided to look closer.  There’s a weird white film on the leaves, soft and cottony.  What could be going on? Is it smog from the L.A. air? Exhaust from living close to the 101?  I got closer…EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

My ranunculus plants are covered in aphids! Aphids! APHIDS!  For some reason, my first reaction was to run around screaming AAAAAAAPHIDS as if I was saying AAALLLLLLLLLVIN.  I was astounded.  Plus, I’m not a big fan of insects so I was a tad freaked out and therefore proceeded to actually freak out.

Some pics of the aphid infestation:

A cluster of aphids on a ranunculus leaf.

Aphids were plentiful on the underside of the leaves also.

Ranunculus stems aren't safe either.

New growth gets pounced on quickly.

It’s a mess and I should have paid better attention earlier.  These tiny green insects, which feed on the sap of plants, are literally sucking the life out of my ranunculus.  A Google search revealed that ranunculus, in fact, are a favorite target for aphids.  Greaaaaaaaaaaat.  Why couldn’t I have planted something simpler? Grrr.

A bit more research also revealed some suggestions for getting rid of the aphids.  What I’ve done so far is to set my water bottle to stream (instead of spray) and physically squirt many of those buggers off the leaves and stems.  I was kinda hoping maybe the force of the water would kill them, otherwise, what’s to keep them from just crawling back on?  I tried to do the underside of the leaves too, but was a bit wary of actually touching the leaves with my finger in order to turn them over.  Yes, they’re tiny but I would still freak out if they ended up on my skin!

Next, I mixed a natural pesticide solution and sprayed it all over the leaves.  If this doesn’t work, I may have to walk down the street to Home Depot and buy a bag of lady bugs to help eat the critters. ::sigh::

On the bright side, my Peruvian daffodils aka spider lily aka Ismene, which on April 3rd looked like this:

My two Peruvian daffodil (spider lily) bulbs are sprouting.

Now look like this:

Going strong, unlike the ranunculus.

Here’s hoping that my other plants stay healthy and that my ranunculus make a speedy recovery.

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