I usually have a lovely display of erysimum, but came back from holiday yesterday to find many of them looking like this - loss of colour on leaves and numerous holes what has happened - and what should I do?
They are part of the brasica family and have been attacked by ??? cant remember the name now, mine look the same. I'll remember it in a minute but by then someone will have answered I'm sure.
Looks like leaf miners Berkley although check for small caterpillars - there seem to be a lot about affecting erysimums this year. Not much you can do other than cut back , scrape a layer of soil from beneath them (to remove any leaf miner pupae which drop once they have eaten their fill) and replace with a bit of compost etc and give them a feed. Leaf miner damage looks bad but doesn't cause lasting effects.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
My Asters looked similar with leaf miner damage, however there wasn't so many holes only at the edges of entrance. Perhaps it's a combination of the two with caterpillars. Check thoroughly and whether you can see any tiny brown 'lumps' under the leaves e.g. tiny insects.
Sadly, my new erysimum plants also look the same after a few weeks. I found tiny green 'caterpillars' on mine (check any remaining buds for the culprits), which leaves me to believe they're either larva of the angle shade moth or Sawfly. It's probably due to our mild winter.
Many thanks for all your ideas. I can't see any sign of caterpillars but have trimmed back, sprayed, removed some soil and fed. I do hope they will survive ...... Just thinking ahead .... What do people think about preventative spraying? Would it be worth considering?
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They are part of the brasica family and have been attacked by ??? cant remember the name now, mine look the same. I'll remember it in a minute but by then someone will have answered I'm sure.
Think they are called flea beetles.
Looks like leaf miners Berkley although check for small caterpillars - there seem to be a lot about affecting erysimums this year. Not much you can do other than cut back , scrape a layer of soil from beneath them (to remove any leaf miner pupae which drop once they have eaten their fill) and replace with a bit of compost etc and give them a feed. Leaf miner damage looks bad but doesn't cause lasting effects.
Think leaf miner damage tends to run in lines along the leaves rather than spot holes, but I might be wrong, I quite often am.
I had that on my yellow ones but not the purple! The yellow are a year younger suppose.
My Asters looked similar with leaf miner damage, however there wasn't so many holes only at the edges of entrance. Perhaps it's a combination of the two with caterpillars. Check thoroughly and whether you can see any tiny brown 'lumps' under the leaves e.g. tiny insects.
Last edited: 13 July 2016 21:48:40
Sadly, my new erysimum plants also look the same after a few weeks. I found tiny green 'caterpillars' on mine (check any remaining buds for the culprits), which leaves me to believe they're either larva of the angle shade moth or Sawfly. It's probably due to our mild winter.
Last edited: 13 July 2016 22:21:52
Many thanks for all your ideas. I can't see any sign of caterpillars but have trimmed back, sprayed, removed some soil and fed. I do hope they will survive ...... Just thinking ahead .... What do people think about preventative spraying? Would it be worth considering?
Looks like the same problem I have with my poor old sweet pea.
Last edited: 14 July 2016 21:49:51