Whats Eating my Distictis Rivers Trumpet Vine?

9 years ago

My Distictis Rivers (D. riversii) trumpet vine is quite yellow and is being eaten by something.

Do you know what could be causing yellowing or chewing of leaves as pictured?

I have avoided fertilizer since I have read fertilizer will eliminate blooming for sometimes years. This is a young plant.. perhaps only 1 year old. I do see ants on this plant frequently but I don't believe ants would be eating it.

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Comments (5)

dena_eft
9 years ago
bunny rabbits?
widmark
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Can't be bunnies. We have a dog that roams free and keeps bunnies far away.
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wisconsitom
8 years ago
Widmark, I'm not familiar with that plant, nor do I know where you are, but those are bite holes in the leaves. Slugs can cause damage like that, but so too can some beetles and possibly other insect types. It's not a sap-sucking thing like aphids or mites, it's something that takes actual bites out of the leaves. Look up your plant's known natural enemies. Usually, somewhere in web-land, there is detailed info for each species of plant, which includes problems likely to occur.

+oM
widmark
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Thanks wisconsitom.

The chew marks seem to have gone away but I am confounded by these Distictis plants which I planted about 2 yrs ago now. I am trying to get several of these plants healthy and spreading over a chain link fence. Mine have spread 10 to 20 ft vines but are showing weak leaf formations mostly at new growth toward the last few feet of the vine. Last year, leaves were yellowed and dropping, and ants were on the plant or nearby. I also had a gopher nearby and was fearing root damage... but the gopher appears gone with some help from a neighbors trap.

This yr, I increased watering which seems to have helped. But still have ants (I think ants are a sign of an unhealthy plant?) and now some brown leaves that look like they are getting burnt from the tip inward. We have clay soil and I wonder if that is contributing.

This plant thrives in So Cal on chain link fences with mostly sun to partial shade. I see mature plants in nearby yards which look very healthy and beautiful. Out of desperation I fertilized with 15-15-15 although I read doing so may delay first flower production for two years or more, while not actually stimulating much plant growth.

Any other ideas are welcome!
widmark
Original Author
8 years ago
This year my bougainvilleas were ravaged by what I believe is the "bougainvillea looper". Wondering if same pest attacked my young distictis too since the chew marks are similar. Also getting lots of ants on the plant. Never used to have ants. I treated with spinosad... I may have more than one pest bc I don't think loopers attract ants... Thinking maybe I have scale or aphids too? How to treat?

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Whats Eating my Distictis Rivers Trumpet Vine?

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dena_eft

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Whats Eating my Distictis Rivers Trumpet Vine?

Comments (5)

dena_eft

widmarkOriginal Author

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wisconsitom

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