hydrangea pest

 Having finally got some buds on my Hydrangea seemannii after five years
or so, I notice the foliage is being eaten alive by something. Anyone
any ideas?
While it looks like a caterpillar with a very large mouth, the tip of
the leaf suggests otherwise.
Hopefully a link to to a photo follows, but I gather some servers remove
these



Anyway, any advice appreciated

 On Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:54:45 +0100, stuart noble


Looks very like leaf cutter bee damage, see
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05576.html
followed by local dieback around the edge of the cut, although I'm not
sure that explains the dieback on the leaf tip. Maybe it's a fungal
attack as a result of the dry weather, with the dead segments going
brittle and breaking away. Are there any black scallops that are
entire, i.e. not broken out? If so, it would suggest fungus. Water
well, and spray with a fungicide if that doesn't stop it. But if it's
the bee, I think you'll have to live with it.

--
 
Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales

 On 10/06/2011 17:56, Chris Hogg wrote:

Many thanks.
On closer examination, yes there are unbroken dark scallops on some of
the leaves, but it seems to be the tips where the trouble starts.
Any ideas for a home made fungicide, or is it better to buy something
off the shelf?

 
If it was leaf cutter bea then the roles would be more circular see
http://www.aussiebee.com.au/leafcutter_bee.html
Vine weevil would have taken nore chunks out.
The darkening shows that the dammage was done some time ago, probably
when the leaves were still young and soft.
It could well have been a slug or a snail.
I wouldn't bother with a spray unless things get worse, I don't think
it will spread any more.
Check the backs of the leaves if it's active fungal then you will
almost certainly see signs there.
David

 On Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:13:47 +0100, stuart noble


I don't know of any home made fungicides, but someone may come along
with a recipe. There are plenty available in garden centres; my
preference would be Dithane 945, but there's Systhane 'Fungus Fighter'
or traditional Cheshunt compound or Bordeaux mixture. The last two are
copper based, but they may have been outlawed by Brussels bureaucrats
:-(

--
 
Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales