Holly hedge problem
by
Sherrie S
+26
Two small areas have dead branches. The entire hedge is 5ft high and 30ft long. Just a couple areas look bad. We cut some of it out.
29 answers
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Someone referred to it as pink disease. I didn't see anything on the internet that verified this as the problem.
Sherrie S
on Aug 09, 2012
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i'll ask hubby when he gets home what he did to heal a hedge for one of his customers. I remember driving by and seeing the progress...it healed slowly...but it was fixed.
Marg C
on Aug 09, 2012
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Thank you Marg C. All we did so far is cut out most of the bad.
Sherrie S
on Aug 09, 2012
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That Japanese holly looks pretty healthy....but sometimes limbs get "up and died" disease. Check at the base of affected limbs to see if you can discern any damage there. As Marg indicates, it will gradually fill in the hole.
Walter Reeves
on Aug 09, 2012
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No Walter there is no damage at the base. Just some of the top of the hedge in two different places. The rest of it looks really nice. You know I don't like "up & died" disease.
Sherrie S
on Aug 09, 2012
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just asked....he says to use Horticultural Oil in the Spring and Fall, and if you like you can use insecticidal soap once or twice in between. The Spring application should be at 2-1/2% and the Fall application at 1-1/2% so it's not too heavy. This should help.
Marg C
on Aug 09, 2012
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Marg C, any special name brand for the oil or soap? Seems this happens each year, we cut it and it regrows. Looks a little worse this year - maybe time for oil or soap.
Sherrie S
on Aug 09, 2012
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he says you can use any brand and probably get it at a garden center. Here in NY he gets his at a company called Lesko and it is their name brand.... As far as horticultural oil, the name brand shouldn't make a difference :) neither will the insecticidal soap.
Marg C
on Aug 09, 2012
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Why would you use either an oil or a soap if you haven't identified the problem? If the problem is a disease, neither of these two products would have any effect...they are insecticides.
Walter Reeves
on Aug 09, 2012
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you're right, it hasn't been diagnosed. I asked hubby what he did on a customers hedge row that looked similar to this. As I drove by over time, I saw that he had healed their bushes, so I figured why not ask him what he did. It's a shame when this happens and I felt it couldn't hurt to take these measures and that I could help in some small way. Sherrie, maybe you should get a professional out to look at it?
Marg C
on Aug 10, 2012
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Marg C, I did get a professional to look at it and they said it was Pink Disease. Since I never heard of it I tried to learn more about it. The things I read didn't seem to explain enough for me to understand PINK disease. Why just a couple areas & why does this happen every year & then fix itself with no chemical treatment.
Sherrie S
on Aug 10, 2012
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oh really? wow, you live way too far away for me to have ever heard of that LOL. I've looked it up...http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/crop_protection/crop_prot_crop%20diseases_plantation_cashew.html It's #1 and it's called Pink disease or die back and says you should see pink at the tips which works it's way downward on the branch. It looks like you are doing the right thing by cutting it back and removing the affected areas. It also mentions spraying Bordeaux mixture (I %) in May-June and then again in October. so in actuality it is a fungus and not an insect and I have misdirected you. sorry for that, so glad that you didn't go ahead and do what I mentioned!! even though it wouldn't have hurt the plant.
Marg C
on Aug 10, 2012
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Sherrie, if it is a disease caused by heat and humidity, that would be the reason it seems to 'heal' itself, when it cool back down maybe. That particular area probably maintains a higher humidity than elsewhere in your hedge. You can mitigate the progress by trimming your shrubs so that they have air flow in the lower sections of the shrubs. The Neem Oil does offer a little protection from blackspot and powdery mildew, but it is not a fungicide. Daconil might be a better match, if your professional is calling it pink disease. I can't really see the up close leaf damage to give an accurate answer though.
360 Sod (Donna Dixson)
on Aug 10, 2012
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Marg C, thank you for trying to help. I read about the pink disease being at the tips which I don't see on my hedge. That is why I questiond the pink diagnosis which costs $80.00 for 2 treatments for something pink I can't see on my hedge. Four Season & Marg C I do appreciate your thoughts & recommendations. I'm going to keep my eyes on that hedge before I do anything. If the bad area increases then I will have the hedge professionally treated.
Sherrie S
on Aug 10, 2012
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your welcome Sherrie.
Marg C
on Aug 10, 2012
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@Sherrie, If I see blackspot or fungus , like on my Sister's Magnolia tree, I use my Miracle Grow sprayer or my Tree Sprayer filled with water and about 1/3 Cup of Baking soda and just saturate the area of contamination, you know the tops and bottoms of the leaves and then the immediate area around that. usually the leaves that are infected will drop during the following week, and the plant may look a little sad but then it'll start to regrow new uninfected leaves.... make sure everything that comes off the plant is cleaned out from underneath so it doesn't contribute to the spread of the fungus...
Sharron W
on Aug 10, 2012
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Is that a one gallon or two gallon sprayer?
Marg C
on Aug 11, 2012
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It's a Sprayer attached to a hose....so the hose dilutes the baking soda further....it worked on her roses and her magnolia....and on my mom's roses...LOL
Sharron W
on Aug 11, 2012
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great!
Marg C
on Aug 11, 2012
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Sharron W, no black spot or any spots on any leaves that are alive. Just two areas that are just dead. I'm watching to see if any new areas get the same problem. Your baking soda and water sounds interesting.
Sherrie S
on Aug 11, 2012
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O.K. Here's my 2 Cents..LOL I'm Just wondering if that part of the shrub is just Not Getting enough Food/water.Since there is No Sign of Fungus.And It Re grows when the Weather Changes It May Also Be a Heat Problem.Some Times the Stronger Parts will take what they need and the New Growth will suffer.The Baking Soda can't hurt...But Give it time and watch it Carefully to see under what conditions it starts to re~Grow...Let Us Know what Happens..
Trish M
on Aug 11, 2012
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Trish M, it takes awhile but it normally does come back by itself. The only food I've ever given this hedge is Milorganite once a year so it is not food. I'll check the sprinkler at that area of the hedge because we had a period of drought & I lost one queen palm because of it. I will let y'all know what happens since you have been so helpful.
Sherrie S
on Aug 11, 2012
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Well If it's due to Heat/Lack of Water...then the Baking soda would make it worse...If it's actually Fungal in Nature then the Baking soda would help with that....do you think it could be sun scald? Is there anything nearby that would intensify the sun onto that one spot more than another? Or is the rest of the hedge possibly just getting shade from a nerby tree and that spot is not shaded? We limbed our Oak and our Azalyas began to struggle...
Sharron W
on Aug 11, 2012
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Sharron W - it has been here for at least 15 years so it is used to the heat. No sun scald - the whole 30 feet of hedge is in full sun most of the day. I will check the sprinkler in that area tomorrow. I should have done it today, but I didn't. Shame on me.
Sherrie S
on Aug 11, 2012
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I think the answer is: we put these little itsy bitsy Mini-Sprinklers around the hedge & the one near the dead spot was clogged with iron & icky stuff from my well so during the drought it probably wasn't working. No more drought & little sprinkler is fixed so hedge should fix itself. Thank you all for your help.
Sherrie S
on Aug 16, 2012
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Glad to Hear It May just Be a Watering Issue...The Drought is Effecting ALL of Us in Different Ways..Wait Till it Cools off and Give Her a Kick of earthworms...May just Help That Old tired soil Out a Bit...Couldn't Hurt To Put a few compost Scraps in there Either... Black/White Shredded Paper iz Great Mulch and Keeps The Earth Worms Happy..Good Luck...
Trish M
on Aug 17, 2012
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Trish M, I will try a little TLC and I will give her a shovel full of worms from other places in the yard. Then I will watch her closely!! Thank you.
Sherrie S
on Aug 17, 2012
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Just for the record, we cut out all of the dead stuff and give the hedge water & it is filling in nicely. I'm glad I didn't have to put chemicals on it.
Sherrie S
on Sep 28, 2012
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Glad to hear that Sherrie, we should always remember that plants WANT to live, sometimes all we need to do is stay out of the way.
360 Sod (Donna Dixson)
on Sep 28, 2012
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