"stuart noble" wrote in message
...
On 11/06/2011 10:48, Charlie Pridham wrote:

"stuart noble" wrote in message
...
Having finally got some buds on my Hydrangea seemannii after five
years or so, I notice the foliage is being eaten alive by something.
Anyone any ideas?
While it looks like a caterpillar with a very large mouth, the tip of
the leaf suggests otherwise.
Hopefully a link to to a photo follows, but I gather some servers
remove these


http://i54.tinypic.com/2vuwzk7.jpg

Anyway, any advice appreciated

Stuart, this damage on older leaves is typical on plants not growing in
woodland conditions and is mostly caused by mechanical damage with the
wind rattling the leaves against one another all winter, the fungal
damage around the edge is secondary infection and the leaves would still
look tatty even if you could stop it, as it flowers it will furnish
itself with a new set of leaves that will be pristine (for a while!)
Other culprits are leaf cutter bees and Vine weevil adults,.
Basically the more shelter you grow this plant in the better it will look


Thanks, Charlie. It's against a north facing fence with nothing much in
front of it, and there's not a lot we can do about that. As it's a
woodland plant, do I assume it prefers an acid soil?

No like most of the Hydrangeas it doesn't mind so long as it doesn't dry
out, like you say not much you can do about wind damage but at least if you
know its normal you can relax and return to sipping a glass of red!


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk