Lombardy Poplar has a reputation for being a problem tree. One site simply says too many diseases to list. Fast growth is usually poor quality growth. The good news is now you have a chance to replace them with something of quality. See link for Univ of Florida site. Here is a link that might be useful: Univ of Florida factsheet

Hi, I have LOADS of red, tropical huged leaf bulbs that I just dug. Can send all you want. Would love to exchange! Dottie

Janice, I have a Patriot and an Albo Marginata that behaved the same way this year for me, with the Patriot being far worse. They're potted and right next to each other, so odds are their common behaviour is caused by some environmental factor. Newer growth on the Albo Marginata has been much more normal and I'm now starting to see some new leaves on the Patriot as well that look far less heavily curled and puckered than the growth from April. Me thinks we're likely dealing with a moisture related issue during a critical stage of development. You're right, they look absolutely dreadful, don't they? At this point with the newer growth being much more normal I'm not overly concerned, I think they'll be back as normal next year. I am concerned however about the canine destruction they are undergoing at the moment: my two Rotties just LOVE to casually wander up to them and take a big chunk out of a leaf. I have one Albo (not the crinkly one) that has more petioles WITHOUT leaves than with. Grrrr...

I've got squirrel baffles on all my feeder poles, but after what you have said, I am tempted to switch to slinkys just for the entertainment value. :-)