Hedge problem, powdery mildew or worse?

Posts

• Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494

  January 2019

  Hello and welcome.  Looking at the photos, I don't think that is powdery mildew, it's a white aphid of some sort - I get the same on my box hedge. I think your hedge may be  a laurel and that the shoots are distorted because the aphids have chewed the very young shoots on the end. I don't recommend spraying with an insecticide but you could try a spray of a horticultural soap (can't remember the name off hand but others will know it) or a powerful water spray with a hose or pressure washer. Hopefully other forum members may have more detailed advice.  

  North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone

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• Pete.8 Posts: 11,340

  January 2019

  I've got the same on my Euonymus hedge
  It think it's Euonymus Scale. I've pruned a lot of it out but it's still quite badly covered.
  
  

  
  Billericay - Essex
  
  Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
  Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

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• Borderline Posts: 4,700

  January 2019 edited January 2019

  I agree it’s Euonymus Japonicus, and a common problem with these shrubs are they’re susceptible to scale and powdery mildew which is what I believe your shrubs are suffering from. 
  
  They can be be difficult to eradicate if you have a long hedge. As Pete.8 suggests, try to prune out the affected areas but also think about the conditions your shrubs are growing in. A dense packed hedge means possible lack of air flow, which means your shrub could always be fighting these issues.
  
  Established shrubs can be stressed, make sure they get a nice thick top layer of mulch. Water stress often weakens the shrubs, and scale take over. Keep an eye on the weather. In extreme dry weather you need to be prepared to water them thoroughly. 

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• Pete.8 Posts: 11,340

  January 2019

  I've noticed I've had some scale infestation on my Euonymus hedge for many years, but it's out of the way so I leave it be and the hedge looks generally ok.
  I think the prolonged drought last year has weakened the hedge and the scale insects have taken advantage. Some leaves and stems were thick with them back in Sept.
  I cut out the worst bits and have given it a good trim in the autumn along with a good mulch, and see what happens later this year

  
  Billericay - Essex
  
  Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
  Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

  0
• sleeve2019 Posts: 4

  January 2019 edited January 2019

  Thank you all for the responses, this is really helpful. The hedge was like this when we purchased the house, but we didn't actually water or maintain the hedge the whole of last summer so I imagine this didn't help (with all the hot weather)!!!
  
  What would be the best time to prune out the affected areas? I presume mid-Spring? And how far back can Euonymus Japonicus be pruned? As you can see from the photos, the distorted areas go back to the hard wood, it is OK to prune hard without killing the plant?
  
  We will also make sure we mulch mid-Spring!

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• Pete.8 Posts: 11,340

  January 2019

  I pruned mine back quite hard to within a few inches of the main branch framework, but mine is a short (10ft long 4-5ft high) hedge. I'm also not too concerned what happens with it as it's 'down the garden' and out of sight.
  There's some info here from the RHS on pruning for it.

  
  Billericay - Essex
  
  Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
  Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

  0
• Fairygirl Posts: 55,117

  January 2019

  Don't mulch unless the ground is well moistened though, sleeve. You want the mulch on top of moist ground to help retain the moisture  
  Prune in spring, and clear all the rubbish away. You can prune quite hard, but probably best to just cut back beyond the general damage.
  It's also worth removing a good bit of the surface layer of leaves/soil from the base of the hedge too, and watering really well at that point. A mulch of compost with a little general fertiliser will give it a bit of a boost, and you can then keep an eye on the condition of the ground during spring, watering really thoroughly in dry spells.
  By summer there should be a big improvement, but if the weather's hot and dry again, keep up the watering/mulching. 

  It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
  
  
  
  I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...

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• Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494

  January 2019

  I stand corrected!  But the first photo did seem to show lots of white fly on the leaves. You're all right about the euonymus though rather than the laurel I thought it looked like. It goes to show that a forum like this is invaluable in getting a consensus of opinion.

  North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone

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• Pete.8 Posts: 11,340

  January 2019

  Lizzie27 said:

  I stand corrected!  But the first photo did seem to show lots of white fly on the leaves. You're all right about the euonymus though rather than the laurel I thought it looked like. It goes to show that a forum like this is invaluable in getting a consensus of opinion.

  Actually, in the case on my hedge at least, there were plenty of mealy aphids too, they were just way outnumbered by the scale insects - so no need to stand corrected
  The drought caused weakness then all sorts of bugs take advantage

  
  Billericay - Essex
  
  Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
  Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

  0