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Green Beech Saplings - White Web Killing Leaves

Last post 07-06-2012 7:49 PM by Suffolk Amateur. 5 replies.

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  • 03/06/2012 07:21 AM
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    Hello Everyone, my first post on this site and hoping for an answer to a hedging problem. Last year I purchased 50+ bareroot green beech saplings about 1m high for hedging. Virtually all established with fairly healthy new growth in the spring, but during June / July I noticed that some leaves were starting to shrivel. Each of the affected leaves had a white, cobweb like covering on the underside of the leaves. I suspected an aphid of some type and gave all the trees a dowsing with an off the shelf, ready to use insecticide. I still lost about a third of all plants, although some of the less affected did survive winter and have produced leaves this year. During the past winter, I planted some replacement saplings from a different supplier, but yesterday noticed the same under leaf white, powdery web and shrivelled leaves that I saw last year. Can anybody steer me in the right direction to prevent further loss? Many thanks! SA

  • 03/06/2012 06:58 PM
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    • jon jon
    • stratford on avon
    • 18 Sep 2009
    • 288
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    Could you post a photo

  • 03/06/2012 09:58 PM
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    • Phot's-Moll
    • The sunny South coast.
    • 06 Jan 2007
    • 4,596
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     Aaaargh! Why do people keep spraying with chemicals when they don't know what problem they're trying to cure? Sorry to rant ...

    I agree, a photo would help to determine what the problem could be.

    http://patsysplot.blogspot.co.uk/
  • 04/06/2012 01:38 PM
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    IMG_0501.JPG

     

    Sorry for the delay in posting a photo...needed help from my son!  Hope the photo helps.

    I'm very happy to use non-chemical treatments if anybody can suggest an effective one!

    SA

     
  • 06/06/2012 08:29 AM
    In reply to
    • Pesty
    • At a desk
    • 24 Nov 2005
    • 324
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    Hi SA

     

    That's woolly beech aphid - only affects beech (so not the same as the one you get on apple) and causes leaf curl. However, it looks alarming but does not usually cause the death of plants. see http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=725

     

    You often get heaving infestations of pests on plants that are struggling in some other way (think imuno suppression, plants have imune systems too) - in the case of newly planted trees and shrubs (been in less than three years) this is often estbalishement problems and it often results in the death of plants. See RHS advice here http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=261

     

    'Trying is the first step to failure' H.J.Simpson
  • 07/06/2012 07:49 PM
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    Hello Pesty, The photo in your link is a fairly convincing match to mine, so I think that you have identified my problem. Many thanks! The second link also makes a lot of sense, I guess I shall just have to accept some losses, but give a helping hand where needed with one of the suggested chemical treatments. Thanks again for taking the trouble to reply, I had spent hours typing the symptoms into various search engines without 'wooly beech aphid' coming up. SA