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Today, while cutting away the burlap from the top of the root ball of some newly planted Oak Leaf Hydrangeas I noticed that there were lots and lots of pill bugs(rollie pollies) hanging out by the trunk of the plants. There seem to be tons of them in the root ball. Will they do any harm? If so what action should I take?
I don't know if they are any different in you area but here's my take on pill bugs. They generally just eat decaying organic material and aren't usually a problem for me even in large numbers. They will get into plants where there is rotting going on. If the plants is getting good drainage and nothing is touching the crown, rot shouldn't be happening. also, too much water and excessive heat could cause rot. You may have already solved your problem by cutting the burlap away. Just remove their habitat and food source and they go somewhere else, usually. Just a question. DId you take the burlap off before you planted? Maybe a silly question. Good luck. hydrangias are wonderful.
Wonderearth, thanks for the input. I am very new to all this and therefore, no i did not remove the burlap before I planted. The fellow at the nursery told me just to cut the strings that were tied around them, stick em in the ground as is and they would be fine. hehe. I did ammend the soil around them but I did what he said and stuck em in there burlap and all. Anyway after I planted them I got online and researched a bit and came to the conclusion that I should have removed at least the top half of the burlap. So at this point I felt my best bet was to go out and pull away the mulch and cut away whatever burlap I could get to without pulling the plant back out of the ground.
If it hasn't been very long and the plants aren't very big you could just dig around the burlap and gently pull up the plant and remove the burlap. If you dig down and it seems like significant roots have already grown through the burlap and into the surrounding soil than leave it. This is what I would do at this point. I'm sorry the nursery guy gave you such "rotten" advice. hehe. -WE
I think the current school of thought is to remove the burlap and DO NOT amend the soil. Give it a few years and they will say something completely different. Keeps us on our toes, I guess.
Chris
Well, they are pretty good size. There are 3 of them. They are about 3 1/2 feet tall and wide. The rootballs are about 1 - 1 1/2 feet diameter. If I get time in the next week I may try to remove it altogether but with 3 kids, a pool, a wife, and about 50 other garden projects going I don't see it happening lol
Not to worry, the burlap will decompose and the roly polies will not hurt a thing. They are an indication the plant is healthy and they only remove decaying and dead material. They are harmless. Just side dress your new plants with some spent coffee grounds, gently scratch them into the soil. That will help bring the earthworms to your buffet, they also like burlap, so they'll help break it down and both enrich and aerate your soil at the same time.
Ooh yeah, I feel you. Family life is busy. I wouldn't worry about it unless they start to die. I second doccat5 actually. I guess I thought your rollypollies were actually inside the middle of the rootball. This would be an indication that the plant wasn't doing well, but the plant would probably be showing signs of stress. If all seems well than it probably is. Pill bugs really are not pests, generally. I read somewhere that they curl up inside the holes that slugs and snails make in strawberries during the night only to be discovered in the morning by angry gardeners, blamed for crimes they didn't commit!
