The Herb That Can Help Ward Off Citrus Tree Pests

Citrus trees are wonderful to have growing in your garden. They attract bees when they're in bloom with those lovely fragrant blossoms, and provide you with fruit to enjoy throughout their cropping season. They're also not that demanding, except for regular watering and ample feeding. But, keeping your citrus trees nice and healthy can be a problem when pests decide to take up residence. Some of the most common pests you'll have to deal with are aphids, whiteflies, and mealybugs. To keep your trees protected, there's a popular garden herb you can companion plant, which can help to ward off pests: parsley. Essentially, this herb is a good trap crop for pest insects and it can also attract beneficial ones.

While it's common knowledge that companion planting is not an exact science and many of the claims made about the benefits are purely based on years of gardening experience, parsley (Petroselinum crispum) may just protect your citrus trees from some of those common pests, or at the very least, help keep pest populations under control. As an added benefit, parsley is a vital food source for the larvae of the black swallowtail butterfly. Plus, you can harvest the foliage and use it in your cooking, so there are lots of reasons why you might want to grow parsley around your citrus trees. As a side note, you might be surprised to learn that parsley is an unexpected herb that grows excellently next to roses. 

One of the biggest benefits of growing parsley around your citrus trees is that it will not only draw in pollinators, but also those beneficial insects or good bugs that'll chase pests from your garden. If you allow parsley to flower, which it will do in its second year because it's a biennial, the impressive umbels will attract loads of beneficial insects such as ladybugs, lacewings, and hoverflies. As these flying adult insects visit the blooms, they'll deposit some eggs, which will eventually hatch, and that's where the magic happens. You see, the juveniles that hatch from those eggs will happily spend their day feasting on soft-bodied pests such as aphids, scale, and mealybugs.

Parsley is also quite effective as a trap crop to lure pests away from your citrus trees. Aphids are particularly fond of this herb and you can use this to your advantage, with succession planting. While young parsley plants in their first year of growth are likely to draw the aphids away from your citrus trees, the flowering parsley plants you planted the previous year will be in full bloom and thus, will attract those beneficial insects that will keep the aphid population in check. This is just one of the easy ways to bring good insects into your garden, so that all your plants, including your citrus trees, can thrive.