HELP! What’s on my Sambucus (posted as Diablo Ninebark)

hi, I just moved in to a new home, fully complete with a “builder’s special” garden!

So naturally, I’m ripping and/or moving around most of the plants. I decided to keep the Diablo Ninebark, and finally started getting excited about this decision...until:

Today I noticed about half of the stems, mostly at the top, are covered in a pest (?)

Please see attached photo, and let me know if you have any idea what this is, and if my Ninebark can be saved or not!

 

Might be Aphis fabae, Black Bean Aphid.

Black bean aphid - Wikipedia

 

Thank you Junglekeeper...although maybe I should re-phrase this:

Not so much concerned about what this is, I’m more so concerned with how to treat/fix it, in order to save my shrub ?!?

 

A number of options are listed in the following document: Aphids Management Guidelines--UC IPM

 

Looked like the most reasonable course of action of action was home made insecticidal soap. I made some with Dr. Bronners soap, a small amount vinegar, and olive oil, and cayenne pepper. This was a formula I found online.

Hope it works! Does anyone have any tips for insecticidal soaps to treat these aphids !?

 

Back in the forum to post another thread seeking help for my Clematis armandii, and thought I would give an update on this one:

I used the above mentioned insecticidal soap and it appeared to have worked! Also, I misidentified my plant, it’s actually a elderberry (guessing either Sambucus “Black Lace’ or ‘Black Beaty’.

While were talking about its species, I’ll ask a related question: anyone have any stories/experiences to share with this plant? Mine seems to have been trained to form a standard, single stem...has anyone seen a single stem elderberry before ?

 

You may want to change the plant name in the thread title to the correct one. In fact you may also want to start a new thread since it's a new question; you'll likely get more responses that way.

 

I'm not sure users can do that, and I got scolded several times for changing plant names, so I (as moderator) have compromised and added the name Sambucus to the title but kept it mostly the same so people would recognize it as the same thread.

Yes, please take Junglekeeper's advice and ask the Clematis question in a new thread, in Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Yes, you can use Thread Tools -> Edit Title.

I believe the OP's new question is in regard to the elderberry.