Baby Acer.

I have a baby Acer, its only about 2 and a half feet tall, and a few of the leaves have had a leaf miner in them. Will this do any harm to the tree? and is there away I can keep them away. Cheers. 02

 

Ah now this is one I know-no. You have to kill them by hand and bin any leaves. On a website I once read they thought that lifting the plant and cultivating the soil regularly might help but thats only might help and how much damage is done to the roots doing that?

Maybe someone else has some better advice but this is all I know will work.

 

So Lolly should I pull of the leaves that have been affected. Ive had a good look but I cant see any beasties on there now. But do they live in the soil? Thats what I'm really worried about. 02

 

Their larvae live in the soil which is why they think you should lift it and cultivate the soil thereby reducing their numbers in theory.

I had a bit of it on some of the brambles when I first moved in here, but they all got cut back so not too much of a worry for me-just every now and then something crops up.


If you can see the critter in the little tunnels they make then you crush it, the leaves will fall of in autumn anyway so I personally would remove the leaves affected. Insecticides don`t work because they are "in" the leaf-doesn`t stop me trying sometimes though.

 

Agree with lollipop, I think the hoing the soil theory is so that birds pick off the larvae. The same thing aplies to gosberry sawfly.

 

Spray with a SYSTEMIC insecticide. As this is absorbed by the plant, it will kill leaf miners which live and feed between the leaf laminates.:thumb:

 

Provado ultimate is a good one.