I opened an Advice ticket with RHS, they think it's aphids. - "The damage to your buddleia looks like it has been caused by an aphid, these may have by now been eaten by predators or migrated from the plant. There are around 11 species of aphid that will feed on buddleia, with the most frequent we see being the mullein aphid Aphis verbasci. This aphid is pale yellow or greenish and as it name suggests it will also feed on verbascum." I'm also thinking that it's maybe something to do with the wet/cold spring.
It sounds as though the aphids are a temporary problem then? Presumably the manager got rid of her stock because the unsightly/sick plants were difficult to sell. Has anyone else given up on their afflicted buddleia?
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Say hello to our little friends! They're nibbling the surfaces of the leaves before they even separate fully, resulting in damage that appears to come from nowhere. This is what the macro lens sees when I pull the leaves apart for a peek...
We get the same problem with the growth tips on our cherry tree each year and I know that is aphids, does no harm but looks a little unsightly. The first picture in this thread is a great example of aphid damage but I don't think I've seen it with the yellow patches like in the other pictures so perhaps that's a peculiarity with buddleia. If it's only the growth tips that are effected then it's normally some little critter involved.
Thankyou @thevictorian I did not know aphids could do this to buddleia - I have never seen buddleia infested with aphids ever. I just had a look at the Longstock website and there are so many varieties of buddleia, it was wonderful! I grow roses and the aphids on the roses were bad earlier in the year for me but not much at all now.
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Hi @clematisdorset, The small "Flower Power" variety seems ok, plenty of green left for making food. The big davidiis in the estate have flower buds, so I agree with all above who say they'll be fine. I'd love to know why it's different this year on these plants. The house sparrows pick every last aphid off my roses, but not off the ox-eye daisies or buddleia. Hmmm
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- "The damage to your buddleia looks like it has been caused by an aphid, these may have by now been eaten by predators or migrated from the plant. There are around 11 species of aphid that will feed on buddleia, with the most frequent we see being the mullein aphid Aphis verbasci. This aphid is pale yellow or greenish and as it name suggests it will also feed on verbascum."
I'm also thinking that it's maybe something to do with the wet/cold spring.
This is what the macro lens sees when I pull the leaves apart for a peek...
If it's only the growth tips that are effected then it's normally some little critter involved.