What is eating my carlessi viburnum?
florava
6 years ago
Hello, I live in New York zone 6b. I am a newbie gardener and Am having problems with all of my spring planted shrubs. The carlessi looked best of everything but now something is damaging them. I am unsure how to treat and if this is a good time to do anything. The leaves have whitish spots that I can scrape off. They also have black spots and holes. I also noticed a few small but visible black bugs. Any advice appreciated! I am attaching a few photos here.
A more general question is if this is a good time to treat plants I have a Shasta viburnum that is withering away, endless summer hydrangeas covered with spots that I believe are a fungus and boxwoods with patches of crispy brown leaves, due to spring leaf miner damage. I don't want to overwhelm with my questions so I will start with the carlessi. Thank you!
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years agoRelated Discussions
what likes my viburnum
Comments (7)I just re-read your post. The flowers only last about two weeks. After they fall you'll see "little stalks" that will eventually grow berries (if you're lucky). The beetles will defoliate the viburnums. There's pictures on the link above. V. dentatums are one of the viburnums attacked. Are these beetles what you're describing as "bug problems"? If so, I'd contact Cornell & let them know your location & when you first noticed the bugs. I've limited my viburnum plantings to v. 'Shasta' because it seems only to be a matter of time until the beetles reach my area. I don't want to just get a shrub maturing & then lose it to the darn beetles. :( Viburnum doublefile 'Shasta' appears to be resistant. /tricia...See Morewill my viburnums cross-pollinate?
Comments (8)Viburnum fruit are quite edible (at least the ones that can be grown in the midwest that I've consumed) though they aren't all very tasty. Birds will most likely clean up all the arrowwood fruit soon after they ripen, so worrying about kids/fruit shouldn't be a problem. Rachel: get a compact V. carlesii in addition to the V. x juddii, and you should have appropriate partners for future fruiting. As far as what people should know: I've been a horticulturist about 20 years, and a landscape architect (including school) for about 10. I can't claim to know everything, but I darn sure try to learn it when it's obvious that I don't and need to. Same with this instance. Learning all the viburnum lore came with first attraction to the possibilities of the genus, and then the need to make all the possibilities happen when the plants were acquired and planted. I had the advantage of many years of acquiring texts on woody plants, so a little reading got me steered in the right direction. Not every plant/design professional is so oriented (unfortunately) and sometimes only is exposed to the knowledge level of those they work with, or the limited amount of information that can be provided during the short time in school. I admire, and look for in those I work with or hire, that thirst for CONTINUING LIFELONG EDUCATION (of which GW is one additional source) which illustrates a passion for higher standards and results. It is promising that the landscaper you admire bothered to source more info for you. It is not promising to suggest that you are overthinking things. I'd be interested in hearing what "tons of viburnums" she plants; what clones of which species; and what happens when she only plants one clone of a species that is rarely represented in Chicagoland. There is the rub. To make the point, you also might ask her if it is overthinking things to only plant Ilex verticillata Winter Red, and no male pollinator, especially if you are in a relatively isolated locale. I bet the various clones of V. dentatum are well represented around Chicago, since several of them were selected there and have been planted for years. Not so with quite a few others though, like V. nudum Winterthur. You may NEVER see fruit on this fine plant without a dissimilar V. nudum around, since it blooms quite a bit after almost every other common viburnum species. So.......you are on the right track, and hopefully have many more viburnum experience opportunities ahead. And, if you've helped a design/landscape professional learn a little something along the way, the world will be a better place for it....See MoreWhat is eating my rhododendron?
Comments (4)I agree that it looks like deer damage. Deer only have one set of teeth and hence rip leaves when they eat them. I had to put up an 8' fence to keep deer from eating my rhododendrons. It is common for one to be eaten and the next to be left. They are more attracted to some. Also, some are closer to their browse path. If they like them and they are close to their browse path, they will continue to browse on a leaf or 2 each day until something better comes along this spring. There are sprays which work for a while. Before I put up my deer fence, I used deer netting each winter. I could take it off in the spring when the buds were opening. Otherwise the buds grow through the netting and trap it on the plant. Here is a link that might be useful: Preventing Deer Damage...See MoreLook what the deer are eating in my garden :(
Comments (4)Deer really do develop different tastes based upon the doe matriarch of the herds. I've had rudbeckia sampled a bit by either deer, rabbits or both. I put up a 32" high wire edging fence around those until they get big. My geranium 'Rozanne' were sampled once when first planted this spring, but just a few blooms. The deer have been going through my garden a lot but haven't taken a second helping of those. What salvia are you growing? Could it be May Night? Rabbits have been reported to be nibbling May Night. I have greggii, ulignosia, rose queen, black and blue...no nibbling at all. I'm thinking that rabbits may be nibbling my caradonna salvia. Euphorbia is really toxic (I thought). This really surprises me. The deer must really be desperate for food in your area. A few little blooms on my perennial ageratum (eupatorium) have been sampled, but it wasn't liked by whatever tried it. I have a big garden out in the open and I don't use any deer repellants. I have an indoor dog (greyhound) who doesn't even bark at the deer. The deer just amble out of the way when we go outside! We have a very large herd of 20+ deer with at least 3 new fawns every year since we've been here. If you look at the lower left, you can see the edging fence around my rudbeckia (not yet in bloom). I'm really sorry that you're having this trouble. It is unfortunately, a lot of trial and error. However, replacing a few plants to keep working through to get something you can safely grow will be (in the long run) a lot less cheaper and less frustrating than paying for expensive deer repellants...over and over again. I tried that at a previous house and for the money spent, I could have planted an entire new garden several times over. I empathize with you. I am determined and it is my goal to have a beautiful garden among (in spite of) deer. Cameron (in North Carolina) and my Deer... Here is a link that might be useful: my gardening blog...See Moreflorava
6 years agoflorava
6 years agofor what it's worth, this is a pic of the carlessi leaf damage. I realize I didn't include one before. Hopefully this doesn't change above advice. Sorry about that!
florava
6 years agoHere are pics of the boxwoods. These are not newly planted but were here when we purchased the house in 2013.
In the spring we had what I am certain were leaf miners. The little bugs buzzing about looked exactly as they do in photos online. I sprayed with neem twice in late spring and didn't do anything else. I hope they are okay. I'm wondering if I can prune them and if so when the ideal time to do this is, and also suggestions on how to prune. I've searched a bit online and it seems that overpruning can kill boxwoods? Again, newbie gardener not wanting to kill anything! Basically the boxwoods look misshapen because there are chunks missing. Leaves, as you can see, are brown and crisp in spots but not everywhere. There is new growth too. Thank you!
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years agoflorava
6 years ago
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)