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New to gardening

New-gardener2018New-gardener2018 Posts: 20
in Problem solving
Have recently moved into a house with a garden. I know that this part of my garden isn’t well but what is wrong. I recognise rhododendron but what is other bush. I’ve attached photos

Posts

  • red_carbonred_carbon Posts: 11
    I'm fairly new to it all myself, but it looks like they're being eaten by something. I think vine weevils can leave rhododendrons looking like that. I've never had to deal with them so unfortunately that's all the advice I've got. Good luck!
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Sorry, can't help you with the 2nd shrub tho it looks a lot like one of my culinary bays bit I suspect it isn't.   You need @Nutcutlet and one or two other folk who are really good at IDs.

    However, I think the rhodo looks a bit chlorotic which just means yellowing leaves and general weakness resulting from a shortage of iron and/or magnesium.  If the soil is not sufficiently acidic or it has been watered with hard tap water it will be unable to take up these nutrients.   

    You can fix it by giving it a thick mulch of ericaceous compost after a good soaking from rainfall or rainwater so you don't lock in dryness.   You can also give it a drink of chelated or sequestered iron diluted according to the instruction with rain or soft tap water.  Buy this in good DIYs or garden centres.  lastly, a foliar feed made form diluting 15ml of Epsom salts in 10 litres of soft or rain water and poured over the leaves will help.   

    I would remove any leaves showing black blotches like the one in the photo and destroy them.  Not on the compost heap.  Finally, to make sure you get a good display of flowers next year, dead head this year's blooms carefully once they fade - just pinch them off with your fingers - and make sure it doesn't go thirsty between July and October which is when these shrubs set their flower buds for the next year
    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
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601

    Hello Jackie. Your shrubs have been nibbled and I would guess vine weevil, too. It won't hurt them, even though it isn't pretty. I'm afraid the best way to deal with it is by catching the little b... I mean dears... whenever you see one - often at night in my experience. Pictures to help you identify them are easy to Google.

    Obelixx is right about more iron and I agree - it does look like a bay. Pick off a leaf, squeeze it in your fingers and have a sniff.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's got a lot of vine weevil damage. Healthy shrubs can shrug them off fairly easily, but yours are a bit chlorotic, as mentioned. I think there's a good chance the ground might be quite dry too - lots of planting there competing for moisture, which won't help.

    You can use nematodes to control the weevils - you water them in. If you google, you'll find more info on them, including suppliers, and time of year to apply etc. You may have to do it a few times to get on top of it. The adults make the notches, and the grubs eat roots of various plants. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • New-gardener2018New-gardener2018 Posts: 20
    Thankyou all so much for your help and advice. I’ll try mematodes. Do weevils eat other plants as well as most in that area seem to have had a feed on. Will give the compost a go and fingers crossed. 
    I am looking forward to trying my hand at gardening so I expect I’ll have lots more questions
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Vine weevil grubs, eat roots of a huge amount of plants,shrubs, especially in pots, then the plants keel over and die, you can get a list from the RHS site, or others,.
  • New-gardener2018New-gardener2018 Posts: 20
    14 months later and treated with mematodes as advised and so much healthier looking area. Thankyou all for your help 


      
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    Seems to have worked wonders!

    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    Excellent!
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