Scrapbook image

Your scrapbook

Forgotten your details?

Enter your email address and we'll send your username and password to you

London

  • FairToday
    10°C/23°C
  • FairTomorrow
    11°C/21°C
  • See Gardeners'
    7-day forecast

Our Gardeners' 7-day forecast warns you of changing weather conditions (including frost, high wind and drought) and suggests actions to take to protect your plants.

Advertisement

Problem solving

Distorted, disfigured bay leaves

Symptoms

Young, winged, sap-feeding insects attack young bay foliage, discolouring and distorting it.

Find it on: bay leaves

Time to act: mid- and late-spring

Bay leaf suckers

In mid-spring, 2mm-long, greenish-brown, adult bay suckers emerge from overwintering. They feed on young bay leaves, turning them yellow and making the edges thicken and curl. The females then lay eggs under the curling edges and the new, young grey insects - which have a fluffy white covering - carry on feeding on the sap, prolonging the problem. Prolific breeding in summer means the symptoms don't disappear.

Solution

Organic

Minor attacks can be tackled by promptly removing all affected leaves. Also, destroy any that fall on the ground, as these can still carry the eggs or adults.

Chemical

Significant attacks are best tackled by spraying the plant with thiacloprid, a systemic insecticide, the moment the symptoms appear. Wait a minimum of two weeks after spraying before using leaves in the kitchen.

Subscribe to the magazine

May edition of Gardeners' World Magazine

In May...
The May issue is on sale from 29 April. Subscribe today and receive the next three issues of Gardeners' World magazine for just £1.

The UK's number 1 gardening magazine

Our show

BBC Gardener's World Live

Gardeners' World Live, 11-15 June 2008

See details

TV & Radio

Television icon

What's on this week

Find out what gardening programmes are on TV and radio this week. And read more about the Gardeners' World programme.

Offer

Planter

Buy a Felco pruning set for just £44.99

BBC Magazines

© BBC Magazines Ltd. BBC Worldwide Ltd.

The BBC Gardeners' World Magazine word mark and logo are trademarks of BBC Worldwide Ltd.

BBC Magazines is owned by the BBC and our profits are returned to the BBC for the benefit of the licence-fee payer.