Harlequin willows are not only extremely easy to care for, they are also comparatively resistant to pests and diseases. For this reason, there is a need to act quickly if brown leaves suddenly appear on the tree or the growth of the shoots visibly weakens. Here you can read what could be the underlying cause and how you can take care of your harlequin willow again.
The harlequin willow rarely gets sick
Illness or caregiving?
Harlequin willows rarely suffer from any disease. If your plant still makes an unhealthy impression, you should first check the plant for care mistakes. These cause similar symptoms such as wilted leaves.
- Is your harlequin pasture too sunny?
- Are you watering the plant too little?
- Are there enough nutrients?
- Did you over-fertilize the sapling?
- Has waterlogging formed in the bucket?
The willow borer
After you have checked the harlequin willow for the consequences of care mistakes and have adapted it to species-appropriate husbandry, the symptoms should soon improve. Otherwise, you should actually assume an illness. In this case, the harlequin willow is particularly susceptible to a parasite, the willow borer.
symptoms
- Older pastures in particular are affected
- Eating marks in the wood
- dark red or white larvae ten centimeters long on the leaves
- brown leaves
- leaf shedding
- In the final stage, the harlequin willow dies off
measures
Only a radical pruning helps against any disease. However, you must be careful not to cut into the grafting point of the trunk. Otherwise you should carefully remove all affected shoots. Don't be afraid to cut back the willow heavily. Regular thinning of the crown also promotes the incidence of light. If the branches branch out too much here, the harlequin willow also shows crooked growth. The tree will soon sprout again.
Never dispose of the cuttings in the compost. The parasite could multiply here and return to the harlequin pasture the following year.
Prevent
As it is often too late by the time the first symptoms appear, prevention is the best treatment you can take. Always examine your harlequin willow for abnormalities in order to identify a possible disease early enough.
Note: For some diseases you cannot avoid using a fungicide. In this case, you should only resort to chemical agents in extreme emergencies. Before doing this, ask your specialist dealer about biological and environmentally friendly alternatives.