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

The leaves of my Berbers are not looking good.

Retro1951Retro1951 Posts: 116
in Problem solving
The leaves are changing quite suddenly. Some look healthy, others are stripy/blotchy. What is going wrong? Thank you.



Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    edited May 2020
    Bit of leaf miner damage by the look of it. You can always remove affected stems
    Not much to worry about. Healthy shrubs shrug it off. It's just a bit unsightly :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Retro1951Retro1951 Posts: 116
    Hello Fairygirl,
    Thank you very much for your response, my apologies for reacting a bit late..
    I took a photograph from top and bottom of some leaves. Looking at the funny leaves, it looks like the top layer has come off. Weird.





  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    The outer part of the leaf is tougher. Leaf miners are like tiny moles and tunnel around between the two leaf surfaces eating the juicy bits :)
  • Retro1951Retro1951 Posts: 116
    Hello Buttercupdays,
    Thank you for the info...Next question: What can I do about it?????
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's not a huge problem @Retro1951 - you can snip off the damaged foliage, but it's really just a cosmetic problem. 
    You can sometimes squeeze the leaves if the insect is inside, and some people like to use a a spray with household ingredients like veg oil and something else that I can't remember [sorry!] but if the shrub is healthy, it won't affect it too much.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Retro1951Retro1951 Posts: 116
    Hello Fairygirl, 
    Thank you, I will try 'hands off', first...then snip a bit, probably..
    The rest seems healthy, so I'll wait, thank you.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I don't get them on anything really - apart from sweet peas, but some years they're worse than others. 
    I might go and have a look at my red Berberis now!
    Good luck anyway  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Retro1951Retro1951 Posts: 116
    I have now pruned it quite hard , it was looking rubbish. Hope for the best.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    Another way of looking at this would be from the Save the Planet angle. Leaf Miners are part of our ever diminishing wildlife. We are currently witnessing what our destruction of all things natural can lead to.


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • Retro1951Retro1951 Posts: 116
    I cannot but agree. Good thought.
Sign In or Register to comment.