Hello,
can anyone tell me if my Honey suckle is ill or not ?? I planted it 3 weeks ago and it has dark red spots/blotches appearing on the leaves.
(Lonicera lecklottii) .....
Many thanks
Paula
This message was edited May 28, 2007 11:08 AM
Hi willowonder8, your Honeysuckle is suffering from Leaf Spot, there are several reasond for the attack, it is a fungal desease, normaly going for plants that are under stress, growing in the wrong conditions or something like that.
What you have to do to help your new plant is the following,
Gather up all the fallen leaves and remove any still clinging to the plant, (dont worry if this makes your plant look like it is leafless as you want to prevent the spread of this fungus, your plant will recover.
BURN all the infected leaves you have gathered, this fungus over winters on leafdrop and soil. Go to the garden center and buy some spray specific to leaf spot, Prob one that contains, Bordeaux with copper in the spray, there may be other more up to date sprays out now, however. you may have to use it at about 2 weekly intervals, also if you have not already fed your new plant, give it a liquide feed every week till it shows signs of improvement, dont make the feed too strong this will not help, just go by the instructions on label.
Honey Suckles like a light shade position and kept damp at the root to get established, dont prune till it has really outgrown the area as it flowers on the new branches from the year before, so I think if you check that you are giving it the moisture it needs, fed. and sprayed, it will come back to how it should be, dont expect an overnight cure as it takes a while to get the leaf spot under control, just be rigerous with garden hygene when you tidy up around the plant, this fungus normaly stickes to the one type of plant, they are tough plants and it will soon pick up if attended to now, good luck. WeeNel.
