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problems with a budlia bush?

hi guys ..the leaves of my budlia bush are riddled with thousands of holes ..hardly any leaf left ..any ideas ..is it fungal ..or bugs ..or what ? cheers

7 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    7 years ago

    Normally buddlleia is as tough as old boots and will survive anything. If there are holes in the leaves then it sounds like some kind of caterpillar - it is after all called the butterfly bush as it is very attractive to butterflies. it could be the Mullein Moth or if not caterpillars then it could be earwigs. If you have an earwig infestation then stuff an old flower pot with straw and thread it upside down on a cane which you put next to the plant. All the earwigs will congregate in the straw and you can throw it on the bonfire and burn them. Whatever it is I am sure your plant will recover.

  • 7 years ago

    Does the damage look somewhat like this?:

    http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?pos...

    If so, it's four-lined plant bug. They have a wide palette, feeding on the tender new growth of many perennials and herbs.

  • ?
    Lv 6
    7 years ago

    I would like to suggest the following. It can be applied to all your vegetation.

    Using a hose end sprayer

    add about 8 ounces of liquid dish soap

    add 1 ounce whiskey

    add 1 tablespoon epson salts

    attach garden hose

    spray the tops and bottoms of leaves of the budlia bush

    use the rest on everything near the bush including the grass.

    stand back and watch it grow

  • 7 years ago

    Oh, there are many leaf eatin' insects that produce holes ranging from "shot with buckshot" appearance to round holes, scalloped holes and even sorta square notched holes. I'm thinking flea beetle and since they eat and hop away, spraying is silly since they aren't there. Don't discount grasshoppers, etc. Diseases, you'd see damaged leaves, not just holes. The fungal problems take awhile to produce a true hole. I would not consider any chemical until I knew what was the culprit, what was total expected damage (simple cosmetic does not endanger the shrub) and what point in the life cycle you needed to apply. By the time you figure this out, the bug has probably moved on. What about wind damage. Here blowing sand can sand blast leaves.

  • Anonymous
    7 years ago

    Spray it with Ultimate Bug Killer. See link. This stuff is the business.

  • ?
    Lv 4
    4 years ago

    Budliah

  • 7 years ago

    japanese beetles?

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