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What's eating my cherry blossom tree?
SandT
Posts: 70
This is our prunus Pandora, planted in March.
About two months ago, the leaves started curling inwards with brown spots on them. I emailed the photos to the tree nursery where it came from and they said it was likely to be slugs. I have never seen slugs on the tree, but they said they come at night time and climb up the trunk and have likely eaten the leaves. I added copper tape around the trunk and the main branches, but the situation has not improved. I have still never seen a slug, but there are ants crawling over the branches and leaves.
I'd love your diagnosis and advice.
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Posts
Hi SandT. I know nothing about cherry trees and am clueless about the curling/brown marks..... but I think I can see a "scale insect" on the leaf shown in the centre of your palm, and maybe a couple more on other leaves. It's the dark spot surrounded by white, they are sap suckers. I get them on the trunk and branches of my acer tree, I've never seen one on a leaf which is making me unsure. ??? Maybe try and find one and see if it wipes off easily, the white stuff is a bit fluffy. I'll try and find a link for you to look at
http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/solve-problems/scale-insects/
Doh!... They do attach to leaves
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When I spot them, I wipe them off with a bit of tissue and squish 'em. Have seen others recommend dabbing the back of them with a cotton bud dipped in meths. Either way gets rid of the little blighters
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Is this on the leaves or on sections of the tree. It is quite hard to diagnose the problem since you have not had this tree for more than a year to see. It could be aphids that you did not notice and they are extremely hard to see with the naked eye.
The comments your tree nursery made is quite interesting. I wonder whether they meant the slugworm/sawfly. Sometimes, they could be infected with these very small slugs that are on the leaves, but maybe you never noticed. To have this infestation, at this stage, one cycle may have happened already without you noticing.They can cause curling and blotching of leaves. But, depending on the size and infected areas, they will not damage your tree in the long run.
The key is to now collect any fallen leaves and remove off site. Do not compost and certainly do not leave around the ground over winter. If you don't have plants at the base, I recommend you rake off the top layer of soil and replace new soil over the winter time.
thank you!
The brown mark near my palm is not an insect, just the brown spots on the leaf showing through. It's only ants that I have ever seen.
The slug worm/ sawfly thing is interesting. Is the reason for moving the infected leaves offsite in case they fall and damage the soil below? It's only a small tree but yes, every leaf is showing damage and looks very sad. No white powdery bits or obvious sign of a fungal infection.
Yes, it's always good practice to do this when you have leaves infected in some way as this can over winter and harbour further problems for next year. Since the leaves should drop off in winter, do not need to try and prune them off, I can see it is a very young specimen.
The second set of photos are interesting, and the fact that you mention ants. It is a sign that there may have been a possible aphid attack, whether that was a neighbouring plant or on your tree it's hard to say, but aphids can cause growth like this especially if your tree is so young.
Once you have removed all leaves lying around, remove the top layer of soil and give your tree a really good mulch. Hopefully next year, the problem will not return. Being a tree, it's not advisable to plant too near a fence and try not to crowd the base with too many plants. This is my advice for the time being. It is totally up to you, but these are long term plants and the roots will need to spread.
Hello, thank you so much again.
The tree is planted about 50 CM from the fence, but there are a couple of dahlias in bloom at the foot of the trunk.
I'll keep an eye on aphids. I hope this doesn't mean it's the deathknell for my little tree!
I don't believe this is going to finish your tree. The key is to allow your tree good air flow and make sure it is watered well in the next year or so. Don't expect it to fend for itself. Apart from the cold winter months, keep it watered when there has been no rain for 5-6 days when temperatures are over 20-21c. Provided it is planted in well with plenty of free draining soil surrounding the roots, you cannot over water it. When watering, not a quick sprinkle. It's around a bucket to two buckets each time.
Thank you, this has been really helpful