Release the Ladybugs!

We’ve mentioned our awesome bioretention planter before, but we also have little green spaces along the edge of our parking lot in which we’ve planted espalier apple trees and strawberry plants.

Our fruit is being grown organically, so we got some ladybugs from Old City Green to help us manage any aphids that might have been getting too cozy with our plants. Aphids are among the most destructive pests around and have earned the ire of farmers and gardeners alike, but ladybugs are able to eat up to 50 aphids a day!

Resident fruit tree expert and member of our planting crew Josh Singer has this advice when it comes to incorporating ladybugs into your tree care plan: “It’s important to release them gently from the container after you water and when there’s not direct sun left in the day. Ladybugs tend to fly away in direct sun, but if you let them go when it’s darker, they tend to stay the night. If they stay for a day, they’re more likely to lay eggs and hang out in the area for awhile.”

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