Do slugs like hollyhocks? Anyone know?

dogsmother

Oh do as I do….
Boil up a head of garlic to 1 litre of water when cooled strain into a spray bottle and use against them, it’s amazing!

Yes this works. I've been using this method for many years on my hostas. You have to spray in the afternoon. I've also seen it done by a specialist hosta grower, on Gardeners World.

Photo ( I hope)!!

Over many years of gardening I have tried everything to combat the slugs and snails (carpet type pellets, copper bands, trays of beers and other suggested methods) all with no avail but this year (so far) I seem to have succeeded using the garlic spray method. I have kept an old pan in the shed for boiling the garlic and got a spray in Poundland - by far the cheapest method so far and definitely the most successfull. Have nipped out the front door to take a snap of one there. Normally the leaves would be in tatters by now although the flowers do survive.

I save the pyracantha trimmings, chop them up quite small and put them round anything that the slugs like, as they won’t cross a pyracantha barrier. The only problem is that they are so sharp they go through your gloves, so you have to be very careful.

I had a garden helper who was determined to plant bedding plants. I indulged her and bought a few trays which she duly planted
Next day she was out to water them and there were none left!
Munched away to nothing. She was mortified.
I think anything recently planted is most vulnerable. Sow direct rather than transfer seedlings if possible.

I don't know but I planted hollyhocks, lupins, delphiniums, helenium and they all disappeared.

I have a variety of hollyhocks in my garden, all but two are self seeded plants. I’ve never had a problem with slugs damage (though they eat just about everything else). The biggest problem I have with hollyhocks is rust.

I started spraying nematodes in early March some years go.
I haven’t had a slug in my garden for years.

I think that slugs like most plants .
I've tried beer traps , egg shells and copper bands - all failed .

Dogsmother has a great idea with her garlic spray .

I've tried planting smelly plants to repel slugs :
I had some success with lavender and rosemary.

Otherwise , I've tried to protect precious plants with holly sprigs .
Sometimes the slugs have had a munch at the holly too !

I also do what Grammaretto does and pick them off manually .

Oh do as I do….
Boil up a head of garlic to 1 litre of water when cooled strain into a spray bottle and use against them, it’s amazing!

The hollyhocks seem 5o be moderately safe.
I still think the best deterrent is to go out, after dark with a torch, a bucket and rubber gloves and manually remove your slugs.

We bought some Savoy cabbage plants for the tortoise who is now out of hibernation. Saw her eating a few and then were surprised how many she’d managed but decided it must have been slugs. However, this morning we had to chase off a pigeon who was eating them!

I have a couple of hollyhock and delphiniums but decided not to use slug pellets about 10 years ago but I do use spent teabags and crushed egg shells which I collect in a box then dry them out and put them round the base of the plants it does work.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202304/medium-521751-20230430-160714.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202304/medium-332324-20230430-160528.jpg

Self-seeded hollyhock doing well so far this year with no slug/snail treatment. Also hostas- similarly neglected!

They absolutely loved mine so gave up growing them, such a pity as they are beautiful plants.

I finally have hollyhocks established and seeding themselves around our large, semi-wild, garden. Now they're established, they don't seem to be affected by slugs. A few leaves at the base of plants survive through the winter and are quite tough. However, if I were you, Witzend, I would use a few slug pellets sparingly around the new plants.

I don't think slug pellets are as bad for wildlife as suggested. We use them in moderation and have lots of birds (which target my raspberries and gooseberries), frogs and a few hedgehogs.
Some of the other suggested preventers just don't work. I was involved in an experiment to find uses for crushed glass from bottles (ground to sand-like). A large box was set up with some leaves surrounded by the ground glass. A few snails were put near the edge and a time-lapse camera set up. In the morning the leaves were chewed and the camera showed the snails happily crawling over the glass!

I suspect they will chomp on your hollyhocks, I planted delphiniums a couple of years ago (similar plants) and the little burgers decimated them It's the same with my lovely hostas, they're just starting to look good and they've been got at already. Somebody said a thick layer of sand around them might help as slugs and snails don't like it. I don't use pellets as we have a mooching dog and hedgehogs often come into the garden. We put copper tape around our pots last year which seemed to work and also stood them on stones in trays full of water so the pots had their own 'moats' - there weren't any takers for them
My OH has placed what he calls 'slug pubs' around his favourite plants too, traps filled with cheap lager, they're working a treat so far. I think it's a bit cruel but at least they'll die happy

Yes they probably will, sorry, I use the wildlife friendly slug pellets (no metaldehyde) which seem to work ok.