Garden

[Julie928]

Have any of you heard of this?  I live in Illinois and apparantly this is becoming quite widespread.  I have many, many viburnums in our backyard garden ~ all but a couple are being eaten alive by this thing. 

The shrubs look terrible.  The leaves are being eaten in a way that all you see is a skeletal shell.  Eventually there will be nothing but bare branches.  This started last year.  I purchased some insecticidal solution from a large garden center that seemed to keep it at bay but now it is not being sold anymore.  I need to be careful what I use because we have a small pond with koi in the backyard.  I don't want anything to blow into the pond and kill the fish.

This is so upsetting.  Our viburnums were large and beautiful.  Now they (while still alive) look terrible.  I was wondering if any of you have dealt with this and if so what did you do?  I am considering taking all the infected viburnums out but it would cost a small fortune to replace the areas with other things (that's how many viburnums we have).  My first choice is to save the existing shrubs if possible.

Any suggestions would really be appreciated.  Thanks so much! 

[JustJazzmom]

Call your local cooperative extension & ask what they recommend to do. 

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/vlb/manfaq.html

[Lilysmom]

@Julie928, I don’t have any advice but feel badly that this is happening.  @JustJazzmom‘s Idea is a good.

If you do replace some or all of these shrubs, it might be a good idea to mix it up a bit so that you are not vulnerable to a single pest taking out your whole garden.  Diversity in planting’s is a good thing.

Good luck.  I hope you are able to get on top of this!  LM

[Julie928]

@Lilysmom @JustJazzmom ~ I spoke with someone at a large, reputable garden center this morning.  She said there really isn't anything we can do until late summer.  Once that time arrives she recommended trimming the shrubs way back.  She also mentioned her viburnums are experiencing the same fate.

I have several different varities in the garden and thankfully the beetles are not interested in all of them.  They are leaving my largest and most prized viburnum alone.  I planted so many because they do well in shade and the birds love them.  I do agree that once these are removed I will plant other things that will (hopefully) thrive in our shady garden. 

I decided to remove the infected shrubs and start over.  The damage has been done, and honestly at this stage I don't think it can be undone.  So here we go again!  Another gardening project begins!  Wish me luck!  :-)

[Lilysmom]

@Julie928, I don’t know what zone you are in.  I am in zone 5-6.  There are lots of options for shade.  Some of the favourites in my garden are below.  LM

Pieris Japonica

Japanese painted ferns and all ferns

Autumn Joy Sedum (lower left red flower)

Japanese forest grass

Day lilies

Hostas

Solomon’s seal, lilies of the valley

Hydrangeas

If you have diversity in your garden, it lessens the chance of one pest doing major damage to all of your plants.  

Good luck!  LM

[Julie928]

@Lilysmom ~ Beautiful photos!  I love ferns, hostas, hydrangeas and have many.  The far end of our yard is a deep shade garden and over the years we have added lots of the above.

There is the nicest lady a couple blocks away that I began chatting with while walking our coonhound.  She told me she will be digging up lots of ferns and hosta and would I be interested in them for our yard?!  Oh, yes!  In the meantime, I'm thinking of adding a hydrangea or two and maybe (if it doesn't get too big) an Iroquois Black Beauty Chokeberry.  (We are zone 5 also).

My husband just took out a couple of the larger viburnums and surprisingly I like it more open.  Because of this, I'm thinking of going the hydrangea route.  Those seem to do well in our yard and I currently don't have too many of those, lol!

Thanks again for the inspiration!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!  :-)

[Lilysmom]

@Julie928, good luck!  LM

[JustJazzmom]

Since you are zone 5 look for the hydrangeas able to tolerate those cold winters. I am in zone 7. 

I have a small hydrangea which is hardy to zone 5 called ‘Pistachio’ here, ‘Glam Rock’ in the UK.  Google for pictures. 

Another small hydrangea I have which pretty much dies to the ground & comes back is ‘Wedding Gown’ a double flowering white lace cap hydrangea. Google for pictures.