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Ponds in the UK

Whats destroying my water hawthorn & lily leaves ?

21 years ago

I've recently finished a new pond. Added various plants including a water hawthorn and lily. The WH started growing well, producing new leaves, flowered etc. but then something started eating the leaves. The leaves have the tissue grazed off leaving just the leaf skeleton, and I'm now left with just the flower stems and leaf stalks. My first lily leaf emerged last week and that is now suffering the same fate. I have no fish or snails in the pond (as far as I know!)only tadpoles. There is no obvious sign of insects under the leaves etc ?

Does anyone have any idea what is causing this, and how do I stop it?

Many Thanks

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Comment (1)

Sean_McKinney
21 years ago
Especially in a new pond with little else to eat some herbivours? may be going hungry and are having to eat what is available, notably pond snails which you say you dont have. Caddis fly larvae my be a pest too, snails and caddis could have arrived on the plants. However listed pests are, leaf mining midges, water lily beetle, china mark moth. Of those the first two might produce the damage you are seeing but I dont think the latter does. Check the underside of healthy or being attacked pads for pest.
I dont know if hungry tadpoles eat plant matter but you could drop some dead slugs, NOT POISONED, in for them, they WILL eat carrion.
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