Slugs and Meconopsis

[P. Kohn]

Not been the best year for Meconopsis but I did manage to raise five plants of Meconopsis zhongdianensis to a size where they could be moved on into 9cm pots. At that size they were moved down to our nursery at the Sheffield Botanic Gardens along woth a lot of 'Lingholm' and baileyi plants.  Not allowed to use metaldehyde in the garden but occasionally use ferric phosphate which helps with slug control. Checked the plants after recent rain to discover that the 'Lingholm's and baileyis were fine but the zhongdianensis were grazed to the ground (and there were two plants in one frame and three in another). What makes the slugs home in on the rarity and totally ignore the tens of plants of the 'commonplace'?

[Maggi Young]

Oh dear, such a shame - we're having a bumper year of slugs and particularly snails here in Aberdeen, too. Been catching  literally  kilos of the darn things.

As to why they choose the "good" stuff, I presume it's the same reason as my choice of a tasty roast over a Spam fritter!   

[TC]

I have been trying mgso4   - Epsom salts as an anti-slug remedy.  I made a ring of the salts around some Mecs. and the next day I found a couple of shriveled slugs that had tried unsuccessfully to cross.  The salts draw the water from them and then it's curtains.  It does not seem to have any adverse affects on the plants but I don't know what repeated doses would do.
Another difficulty is that it gets washed out in rain.