David wrote in message
...

"Spider" wrote in message
...

David wrote in message
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Hi David,

Just looked at your pictures. As the others say, I don't think you need
to
worry about pruning unless, as advised, you want to remove the berries.
Personally, I have always found that the birds take them. Also note
that
small birds sometimes take nectar from the flowers. It's not a
problem -
just enjoy watching them. Your plant is still very young, and will
branch
out as it grows.
As to the 'rust' problem, I'm not even sure it is rust. I peered as
closely
as I could at those markings and they seem sunken. Most rusts present
as
raised spots. Have another look at the affected leaves. It may just be
that they've been grazed by some bug or other, and in all probability
the
bug responsible is long gone. Don't be in too much of a hurry to spray;
small infestations of either rust or bugs can be simply dealt with by
removing the damaged leaves - both from the plant and from the ground.
If
you're convinced it's rust, after cleaning up, mulch the ground under
the
plant to prevent spores reinfecting. Since the weather's been dry,
water
the plant well before applying the mulch.

Spider

Hi, Spider. Thankyou for your advice. Yes the markings are sunken rather
than raised, on some leaves they are just a few brown marks, on others
almost half the leaf is affected. I have had another close look at almost
all the leaves and I can't see any visible bugs. On a few healthy leaves
on
lower branches there are white markings, rather like the salt residue you
get on concrete. The markings don't come off easily unless I wet my
finger.
This may have nothing to do with the problem, of course!
Apart from that the plant is reasonably healthy,

regards,

David



Hi David,

I don't think there's a connection between the white residue you can remove
and the brown lesions you can't. No doubt you didn't even notice the
lesions when they were fresh as they were probably still more or less green.
You are seeing them now because they have healed over like a scab.

By all means keep an eye on the shrub, but it doesn't sound too serious to
me. If the weather in your area is as good as it is here in SE London (16
deg.C), it would be a good idea to feed and water now so your Mahonia can
start building up more leafy growth to replace the damaged leaves, which may
not be photosynthesising as efficiently as they might. One thing that does
concern me slightly is that the white residue could be fertiliser splash
from a previous feed. Is this possible? If so, it could burn the foliage
and is potentially more harmful to your plant than any grazing bug.

Spider