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Dwarf Yaupon Damage

7 years ago

The leaves of my dwarf yaupon hollies are being systematically devoured, apparently by some insect. Individual leaves look as if they are being eaten starting with the edges much as a caterpillar might do to some other leaf. Despite my best efforts, though, I cannot seem to spot one of the offending insects. Spraying a multipurpose Bayer disease/insect/mite spray seems to keep the problem at bay (mostly), but only for a week or two at a time. After lots of searching on the web, I cannot seem to find anyone else who has this problem. Is it just me?

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Comments (7)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
please stop spraying until you actually ID the culprit ... have you gone out in the dark and looked ...

i can not fathom that the first spray did not solve your problem ... in that you would need a second spray again in 2 weeks ...

how about some pix?

ken
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
7 years ago
Got photos. If a caterpillar, those things usually have a period of weeks and then they are gone. No experience here with Dwarf Yaupon though.
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User
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I'd like to see pictures, too. I've grown them for 20+ yrs (11 in my yard now), and have never seen one with caterpillar damage. They can get mites, scale (usually from overshearing), leaf minor damage, etc, but none of these result in a leaf looking eaten. They get discolored and can drop. Some types of hollies can get nibbled on by grasshoppers, but yaupon is usually resistant to them (and deer).

Curious to see what the damage looks like.
Jeff Leonard
Original Author
7 years ago
I've attempted to include a few pictures of the damage.

Broad views of damage:

Close-up of new growth with varying degrees of damage on leaves:
User
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Wow, they had a feast, huh?

I did some research today, and asked around ... found out that Cankerworm might be the culprit. I've been lucky in never having had to deal with them. There are specific sprays for them, but I have no experience with that.

I wouldn't shear them this summer, just let them recover. Yours is pretty thinned out, so I can't predict what will happen, but they're normally pretty tough plants.

Also, I see a few dark brown leaves in there, and can't tell if that's related, or something else is going on. I don't know where you're located, your growing conditions, etc. You might want to take these pics and a cutting (both eaten and brown parts) to a trusted local nursery and see what they think.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
7 years ago
Sure looks like black vine weevil damage to me, what's your location?
Jeff Leonard
Original Author
7 years ago
We're located just south of Birmingham, Ala. (north Shelby county).

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