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Fatsia jabonica

meegancmeeganc Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Hi, I'm. New to gardening. We moved house and have two large fatsia jarbonicas in the garden. Majority of the leaves have little holes like they are being eaten or/and are turning black. There seems to be new branches growing at the bottom Of the trunk  with healthy green leaves. What should I do? 

Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Welcome to the Forum.
    Could you post a couple of pics?
    Devon.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    It may just be frost damage or a bit of leaf spot.  You could also inspect the reverse of the leaves for signs of pests such as scale insects or thrips.  You can prune them any time now when no frost is forecast so the wounds can heal without damage.  Prune out any dead, diseased or damaged stems first and then stand back and prune agian to gve a balanced shape then give it a generous handful of blood, fish and bone or pelleted chicken manure and a mulch of compost.

    This link will give you some info about your plants
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/7147/fatsia-japonica/details
    and you can follow the links to how and when to prune and also search the RHS site for how to deal with scale insect or thrips if you have them.
    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
  • meegancmeeganc Posts: 4
    Thank you
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    That looks to me like wear and tear from age but also a long, hard winter and maybe lack of feeding too.   I suggest you give some TLC as described above and they'll recover.  They can be beautiful when well looked after.
    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
  • shane.farrellshane.farrell Posts: 207
    They do seem to develop the deformed leaves as shown. I'd cut off any damaged, deformed or yellow leaves (leave the base of the stalk on it will yellow and drop off). If you want to tidy up the plant you could prune as hard as you like it cut off the leaves and see where the shoots appear. They are tough and recover quickly.
  • shane.farrellshane.farrell Posts: 207
    Ps it's japonica 👍
  • meegancmeeganc Posts: 4
    Thank you Obelixx. Great advice
  • meegancmeeganc Posts: 4
    Thank you Shane! Oooppps did I spell it wrong? Ha! I'm learning! 
  • shane.farrellshane.farrell Posts: 207
    No worries at all 🙂
  • Arthur1Arthur1 Posts: 542
    Great plant which will regenerate if cut back. Leaves suffering from cold damage and possibly also capsid.
    Mine get frosted every year.
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