What's eating my shrubs?
 

Please could someone help me identify something that's eating away at my shrubs?There isn't anything obvious i.e. greenfly or red spider mite etc, but the leaves have tiny holes in them & some of them are curling. There's a variety of plants affected including Coleus, Japanese Quince, Buddleia, Forsythia, Astilbe, Euonymous, Ladies Mantle, Syringia. I've only planted up my lovely new garden this year & it's rapidly disppearing!!

I've sprayed with Organic Insecticide but to no avail. Can somone advise please?

thanks
Yours hopefully,
Lois Needham

Lois Needham wrote in message
...

Please could someone help me identify something that's eating away at my
shrubs?There isn't anything obvious i.e. greenfly or red spider mite
etc, but the leaves have tiny holes in them & some of them are curling.
There's a variety of plants affected including Coleus, Japanese Quince,
Buddleia, Forsythia, Astilbe, Euonymous, Ladies Mantle, Syringia. I've
only planted up my lovely new garden this year & it's rapidly
disppearing!!

I've sprayed with Organic Insecticide but to no avail. Can somone
advise please?

thanks
Yours hopefully,
Lois Needham


--
Lois Needham

Hi Lois,

Not sure what's causing the damage .. possibly a bug which left unnoticeable
pin-prick damage earlier in the year, which has now expanded into the holes
you see. If this is the case, no insecticide with help - organic or
chemical - as the culprit is long gone.

I wouldn't worry too much, though. All the plants you mention are deciduous
(with the possible exception of Euonymous. There are evergreen forms.), so
very soon all the leaves will drop. Next year you will have healthy new
leaves. That is the time to start looking for signs of damage and
responding as you see fit.

Spider

Sorry about the delay in replying. I am currently having a lot of trouble
with snails that are breeding rapidly in our humid semi-woodland South Devon
Garden.
They cause the type of damage you report when they are small up to about 1cm
shell diameter, eating holes in the middle of leaves rather than from the
perimeter. They don't specialise on their food plants and will attack a wide
range.
Our wooded area includes large patches of different coloured lamiums. A
number of moth caterpillar species attack these and other plants we
identified the caterpillars-by appearance and time of year on greenhouse
basil plants.
The attack was in this case around the perimeter with whole leaves eaten
away.
Regards
David Taylor
"Spider" wrote in message
...

Lois Needham wrote in message
...

Please could someone help me identify something that's eating away at my
shrubs?There isn't anything obvious i.e. greenfly or red spider mite
etc, but the leaves have tiny holes in them & some of them are curling.
There's a variety of plants affected including Coleus, Japanese Quince,
Buddleia, Forsythia, Astilbe, Euonymous, Ladies Mantle, Syringia. I've
only planted up my lovely new garden this year & it's rapidly
disppearing!!

I've sprayed with Organic Insecticide but to no avail. Can somone
advise please?

thanks
Yours hopefully,
Lois Needham


--
Lois Needham

Hi Lois,

Not sure what's causing the damage .. possibly a bug which left
unnoticeable
pin-prick damage earlier in the year, which has now expanded into the
holes
you see. If this is the case, no insecticide with help - organic or
chemical - as the culprit is long gone.

I wouldn't worry too much, though. All the plants you mention are
deciduous
(with the possible exception of Euonymous. There are evergreen forms.), so
very soon all the leaves will drop. Next year you will have healthy new
leaves. That is the time to start looking for signs of damage and
responding as you see fit.

Spider