Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Rusty spots and twisty weed

Xander RanderXander Rander Posts: 70
in Plants
Hi,

i have two questions from one photo which which should be below.

ive been watering my laurels regularly as we have had quite a bit of dry hot weather and some are also newly planted! Everything was fine but out of nowhere (older and newer laurels) developed these rusty spots on their leaves and was wondering why and if I should be concerned?

also from the same picture in the background there is what I think is a weed... it twists it’s way around EVERYTHING and I’m spending a life time pulling them off and out of things! Does anyone know what it is called and how best to rid this bane?

Thanks in advance

Posts

  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    The twisty weed is bindweed, and is a pest.  It has thick white roots which spread everywhere and are difficult to dig up, especially where you've got other plants growing like your laurel.  If you keep digging and pulling it you will eventually weaken it... or you can use weedkiller if you're desperate.  Where it's growing up your chainlink fence that's relatively easy, but when it winds itself round plants you treasure, you have more of a problem - you'll need to unwind it carefully, then protect the plants you want to keep (with a binbag or a cardboard box, for instance) while you spray the bindweed.  (Glyphosate based weedkiller like Roundup is best.)  Even when the weed is not so close to your garden plants, take a lot of care; you can get spray drifting where you don't want it!  You can also get paint-on versions of weedkiller which are tedious to apply, but won't randomly kill everything in the neighbourhood.

    The spots on your laurel leaves are caused by a fungus or bacterium which is spread in water - so it's more prevalent in a wet season, or if you've regularly wetted the leaves when watering the plants.  They may eventually turn into holes in the leaves as the brown bit falls out.

    Looking at the Royal Horticultural Society's information (I googled "laurel leaf spot RHS"), it could well be a bacterial infection, because the spots look yellow round the edges.  This means a fungicide probably won't have any effect...  but the good news is that the plants will grow out of the infection and produce new, unaffected leaves anyway.   :)
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • Xander RanderXander Rander Posts: 70
    @Liriodendron thank you so much for your very thorough reply!

    in reference to the bindweed and bin bags, could I suffocate the soil with bin bags and just leave a slight opening around the laurels to prevent the spreading of bindweed? Or is that pointless!

    and in reference to what you said about laurels I think you are 100% spot on! I have been watering the leaves as well so it really must be that which I will stop doing!

    thank you for taking the time to help
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Bindweed can travel very far deep underground.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    It's thick roots store enough energy to send it seeking beyond any barriers so pull up every bit you can see as soon as you see it as this will, eventually, weaken it.   You can try forking it out too but don't leave visible bits of broken white roost in the ground as they'll turn into a whole new plant.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    I don't think covering the soil would work, Xander.  The bindweed would just come up through the holes around your laurel... and plastic isn't very good for the soil, as it excludes light, air and water and kills worms etc.
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • Xander RanderXander Rander Posts: 70
    Blah! Thanks everyone! Looks like I will be dedicating a weekend and ringing in my 3 boys to help rid the weed by hand :/
Sign In or Register to comment.