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Perennials Garden Clinic garden

Insects laying waste to perennials

3 years ago

Hi - in past years I've always just accepted a certain amount of disease and insect damage but this year something, or multiple things, have really decimated most of my perennial beds. Garden phlox, stoke's aster, creeping mazus and bletilla all have similar, significant damage. I held a white piece of paper under different plants and knocked the leaves to see what showed up. I see a lot of what look like flea beetles, (black, jumping) but none of the little holes they usually cause. I also got a picture of what looks like a green aphid that came off the phlox, but none of the honeydew was found on the plants. In short I can't quite put my finger on it, and it's infuriating! I have attached several pictures of plants, insect close ups, and a picture of different species' leaves side by side (from top to bottom: bletilla, phlox, stokesia, mazus) . Any help would be massively appreciated!

Best,

Brandon

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Comments (5)

dbarron
3 years ago
I'd tend to say dry weather (and spider mites) but just a guess.
Brandon
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks for your response. Spider mites were what I'd been thinking, but I never saw any of the webs. Not sure that rules them out though.....
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
Any help would be massively appreciated!

==>>>

welcome ...

help with what...???

its fall ... cut the perennials down for winter... pull out the annuals ... and remove all refuse ... and wait and see what if any plague returns next year ...

in mid to late sept ... its not really time to be spraying things .. its just a waste of money ...

that said.. knowledge is power.. and learning is never a bad idea ... but for sure.. plagues come and go over the years.. and you might not ever see this again ...

then again.. next year might be time for all out warfare ... lol .. but i doubt it ...

ken

ps: always mention where you are.. big city name ... the answer might change if some evergreen type shrubs or some such are involved ... more facts.. more answers ...
Brandon
Original Author
3 years ago
Ken - thanks for your response. I live in Atlanta, GA (7b). There are encore azaleas, viburnum tinus, distyllium and pittosporum nearby. Of those 4 evergreens, only the pittosporum shows any damage. Similar yellowish discoloration on top of leaf and small black marks on undersides. Also, I brought in a couple transplanted Angelica gigas less than two weeks ago and just noticed they are covered in the little jumpy black bugs and the leaves are similarly discolored.

I sure hope you're right about this being a one off event. I don't recall ever having something on this scale happen before so I'm hopeful that'll be the case.
Brandon
Original Author
3 years ago
(And I want to know what is causing this)

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