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Shrub ID and disease/infestation

14 years ago

Over the last year a shrub I have on my front lawn has been attacked by either a disease or some sort of infestation.

To begin with, I do not know what sort of shrub it is, so please can anyone identify this?

The bush is dense, medium to slow growing, ever green, forms black berries and I have never seen it flower. Pictures linked below.

Secondly almost all of the leaves have been attacked, looking like they have been eaten. I have inspected the leaves many times and rarely find any bugs on them. The area does have a good number of black ants, but I rarely see them on the plant and there are also a relatively large number of spiders (though no more than previous years when there was no problem).

Any help to identify the bush and the problem would be much appreciated, if only to give me pointers of where else to research.

Comparison of healthy leaf with problem leaf:

{{gwi:279587}}

Bottom side:

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Showing berries:

{{gwi:279590}}

Attacked region:

{{gwi:279591}}

General bush overview:

{{gwi:279592}}

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

8 years ago

This thread is approaching 7 years old, so re-confirming now what was already established when this thread was current is not overly helpful. One would hope the OP had already successfully addressed the issue a long time ago :-))

Comments (8)

Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
14 years ago
Where do you live? Do you have the area mulched? What is the exposure?

It sort of looks like Cherry laurel 'Otto Luyken'. Have you scouted out slugs? Set a saucer of beer underneath a plant and see if you get any activity. Maybe grasshoppers?

Could also be laurel 'Shot hole' disease caused by a fungus, if your weather tends to be damp with low light. Look that up and see if it matches your conditions.
Iris GW
14 years ago
I agree it looks like a form of Prunus laurocerasus.
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It's not totally clear in the top two photos, but the growths on the shrub branches are most likely lichens. These do no real harm to the host plant but may indicate lack of air circulation and overly wet conditions. In most cases, however, there is no need to do anything about them and they certainly would not cause the death of any plant. The bottom photo shows what is most likely juniper tip blight. This is one of at least three different fungal diseases which start at banch tips and work their way back toward the main branches. Pruning back to healthy wood is the best first step. Your extension service can advise you about sprays and the timing for them. They can also help with the causes for your dead shrubs. Diagnosis via photo is not terribly reliable, so there are other possibilities, including dog urine and mechanical injury to the branches. I would, however, bet on the tip blight.
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I checked out the article on mite galls which says you can let it go and then cut it back. But the description does sound similar. This stuff has killed a number of the branches in just a week so I'm not certain if it's the same thing. Let me get another photo when I get home, maybe that'll provide a bit more certainty. I'm in Iowa, it actually didn't experience much (if any) die back this winter but it is 4-5 years old at this point. Before it recently started dying off it was about the size of a fully mature Caryopteris (3.5 ft wide, ~2 ft high)
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
one of the problems in the picture is the monoculture ....

there would most likely not be a problem.. if there were a mixture of plants.. so that one predator.. would not attack the whole line ...

if you dont see anything.. then perhaps you are looking at the wrong time of day .... i like the slug suggestion.. since they come out at night ... so get out there after dark with a flashlight.. and see if you spot anything ....

ken
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
14 years ago
The plant is Prunus laurocerasus 'Otto Luyken', dwarf cherry or English laurel.

Slugs seldom bother any broadleafed evergreens - the leaf tissue is too tough. This type of damage is very common to lots of broadleafed EG's in my area and can be attributed to root weevils. The larvae of root weevils can attach susceptible plant roots but it is the damage of the adult weevils that creates the notching of the foliage. Adult weevils are night feeders so that's why you don't see them.

Shot hole disease - exteremly common to 'Otto Luyken' - could also be playing a role but the damage pattern from that is usually a bit different - instead of the edge notching mostly seen in the above photos, distinct holes will develop in the interior of the foliage but if the problem is very pronounced, these lesions can coalesce and could look like the above.

I'd approach treatment on both fronts :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: root weevils
stimpy926
14 years ago
gilzers - my 2 plants were severely affected in '05, and have been healthy since I applied Heterorhabditis beneficial nematodes, gratefully recommended by another gardener in this forum.

how they looked then
{{gwi:279593}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Available from Arbico organics
beckysimpson1
8 years ago
It looks like root weevil damage. They come out at night.
jazzmom516 (Zone 6b, MA)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Root weevil or Taxus weevil damage-- need to drench your soil in the spring once it unfreezes with an insecticide for that specific insect. Follow label directions as to amount and spacing of application.-- As others said-- its a cherry laurel plant which gets white flowers in the spring. If you are having a mild winter, the leaves could also benefit from application of an anti-desiccant like Wilt Pruf (apply when in the low 40's and up) to top and under of leaves with a pump sprayer.

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