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Hedge disease
Schroedinger
Posts: 4
Dear All,
I do not have much gardening knowledge and require some advice.
The hedge in question (species unknown) grows in what is basically a large container in front of my house. The hedge has shown signs of disease for quite some time now, but I have no idea what is causing it and how to treat it. Any ideas?
Thanks!
0
Posts
Cat, love it pansyface.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Brilliant pansyface
I would have to open the box.....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
me too
I think we need to see a picture of the hedge and it's container Schroedinger
In the sticks near Peterborough
I am more interested in the cat
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Thanks pansyface and others for your replies.
So far, I have drastically pruned/trimmed the hedge, topped up with multipurpose compost and implemented a regular watering schedule (plant stress was definitely a contributing factor). New leaves are now just starting to show and so far they look ok. I will provide photos of the current state of the hedge and its container later.
In the meantime, what can be done to tackle sooty mould/mildew and a possible insect damage?
A friend (and no, it’s not Heisenberg) thought the vine weevil might be at work here too with the adult vine weevils eating the leaves and the grubs eating the roots. However, I am not sure how to confirm the presence of vine weevil, and it seems that if I have to treat with acetamiprid (e.g. Bug Clear Ultra Vine Weevil Killer) or thiacloprid (e.g. Bayer Provado Vine Weevil Killer 2) as a liquid drench applied to the entire compost in the container, I would need quite a lot of the pesticide.
Apologies for our jokes Schroedinger...we're a simple lot here, and easily amused....
When you say it's a hedge though, do you actually mean a length of hedge, or is it one hedging type shrub in a container? I only ask becasue for a line of hedging to be in a container, it has to be a decent size of container or it's always going to be hard to provide enough nutrition for it to thrive as it should.
Pix would definitely help - from a bit of distance as well as close ups
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Here are finally some photos of the hedge, its container and a couple of close-ups. I hope this provides you with a better idea of what I am dealing with.
No offence taken about the jokes. With my this username I am kind of asking for it…
It looks like it might be a beech hedge if that helps. I agree with pansyface that regular watering and feeding are necessary in that size container.
Edit: Ideally, you should use a John Innes No. 3 formula compost for permanent plantings like a hedge, so I would recommend that you remove the MP compost you have added and replace with JI #3, if you can. If not, don't worry as the MP will certainly help. Each year, sprinkle a couple of handfuls of fish, blood and bone fertiliser per trunk in early spring and gently tickle it in with a hand fork. Keep up with the watering and the hedge should regain its health and the pests and diseases should go away without needing to resort to pesticides and fungicides.
It does look like beech. Is there any drainage in the container Schroedinger? It doesn't look as if there is - which could be a big problem. Beech, in particular, doesn't like being soggy.
PS love the last cartoon!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
pansyface, Fairygirl and BobTheGardener, thank you for your useful advice and comments. I am now in a much better position to make my hedge happy again. By the way, the container has drainage, so there should be any problem with sogginess.
One last question: given that there are plenty of new leaves, should I prune out the few remaining blemished leaves?