culing oleander leaves
- To: Medit-plants
- Subject: culing oleander leaves
- From: i*@cgac.es
- Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 09:42:56 +0200
Mmmm. Not sure, Moira. Only insects in evidence are yellow aphids which
I keep at bay with the homemade oil spray you suggested some weeks back.
This makes me think, though: Maybe I'm overdoing it or the concentration
is too high. Could the leaves be suffering from clogged stomata? These
are young, very long, leaves. In general the plants seem healthy enough
- many of them are flowering for the first time. On many of them,
though, the leaves curl in towards the central nerve. On some the whole
leaf corkscrews. The effect seems to be worse on hot days.
Damian
> Damian
> The only possibility I can think of is an infestation of an insect,
> possibly (if there is actually one which favours oleanders) some sort of
> leaf-curling midge like the one which is found on the tip leaves of
> apples in some areas.
>
> If such an insect is involved you would probably find some evidence of
> its presence in the curled-up leaves, either the insects themselves or
> the mess they leave behind (frass), though the apple ones do not stay in
> the leaves very long and by the time one sees the curling the young have
> often completed their growth and dropped to the ground where they
> pupate.
>
> There doesn't seem to be much one can do about it and apart from looking
> unsightly they don't do any long-term damage. On the apples they are
> only serious on very young plants where most of the leaves are attacked
> so they may have their growth stunted a bit. If one can catch them at
> the stage where the insects are still present, cutting off the infested
> tips and burning them will go a good way to controlling them.
>
> Of course my advice only applies if there are definite signs of insect
> presence. Otherwise I have no useful suggestion to make, as though
> oleanders are quite common here I have never seen this happen locally.
>
> Moira
> iberbier@cgac.es wrote:
> >
> > Another novice query: I've noticed a lot of the leaves on my newly
> > planted oleanders are curling up - lengthwise this is, along the main
> > axis of the leaf. What is causing it? Heat? Lack of water? Too much
> > water? They are in large metal containers in full sun. Mulched with
> > newspaper and wood chippings.
> >
> > Thanks for your patience.
> >
