Advice
Controlled-release fertiliser 'eggs'
Gardeners
are often puzzled and alarmed by the discovery of yellowish-brown
or bluish-green round objects, about 1-3 mm in diameter, found
among the roots of newly bought plants.
These objects are controlled-release fertiliser pellets added to the compost by the nursery that originally grew the plants. The pellets have the ability to absorb water from the soil and the permeable outer membrane allows nutrients to seep out slowly over a period of many months.
When squeezed, the pellets burst in a convincing imitation of an egg. This leads to fears that the plants are infested with eggs of a pest, such as vine weevil. Eggs of this destructive pest are brown and spherical but less than 1mm in diameter and therefore very difficult - if not impossible - to see in the soil.