If you discover holes in the leaves of the cherry laurel, it is rarely a pest, as many garden owners suspect. Rather, the circular holes are a result of shotgun disease, a widespread fungal disease. In addition to cherry laurel, it also attacks stone fruits such as plums, cherries, peaches and almonds.
What causes pitting in cherry laurel?
Pitting in cherry laurel is often caused by shotgun disease, a fungal disease that appears as circular holes on the leaves. The fungus can be controlled through biological measures such as removing infected plant parts and fertilizing. In stubborn cases, fungicides are required.
Detecting shotgun shots
You can tell that no pest is responsible for the pitting because the leaves show different stages of the disease:
- There are brightened spots on the young leaves.
- These turn reddish-brown after a few days.
- The leaf surface is visibly thinning.
- The plant rejects the diseased tissue, leaving behind the typical holes.
The nectar glands of the cherry laurel look deceptively similar to shotgun shot
If you discover some dark spots on the underside of the leaves along the leaf blade, it is usually not shotgun fire. The laurel cherry secretes sweet plant juices from these extrafloral nectaries. The glands are initially visible as dark green dots, which over time turn brown due to harmless sooty mold fungi. Depending on the cherry laurel species, there are between four and ten of these nectar glands per leaf.
Contain the fungal disease in its early stages
Before you resort to chemicals to contain the shotgun blast, it is worth first fighting the fungus with biological means.
Cut out all affected parts of the plant thoroughly. You should ensure that the bushes are loosely structured so that the leaves can dry quickly. The cherry laurel leaves that have fallen to the ground must also be consistently removed. Dispose of both the clippings and the leaves in household waste, as the fungal spores survive in the compost.
In order to strengthen the bushes, it is recommended to then fertilize them with long-term fertilizer such as horn shavings (€32.00 on Amazon), mature manure or compost. Spraying with horsetail also shows good results.
If the disease cannot be contained, fungicides can help
If the fungus attacks the cherry laurel again despite these measures, you can purchase highly effective sprays against shotgun disease (Stigmina carpophalia).
Tips & Tricks
Eaten leaves on the laurel cherry could also come from the black weevil. However, the nocturnal beetle nibbles almost exclusively on the edges of leaves and causes damage to the leaves. This means that the damage caused by the black weevil can be easily distinguished from that of the shotgun disease.
