Hi all, I hope Im posting in the right forum. I bought a Styrax japonica about a month ago from a nursery. It looked very happy and healthy then. It was in a pot there but was brought with just its burlap bag. I put it in another pot almost immediately (within a few hours) as I wasnt ready to plant it yet. I filled the space between the roots/burlap bag and the side of the new pot with soil from the garden area where I hope to put it. I have been watering it well about every 2-3 days but especially well the first few days after going into its new pot. It did well for about 21/2 weeks but now its looking really unhappy. The leaves are spotty and curling and falling off. Yesterday I also noticed that there a hundreds of little bugs that look like potato leafhoppers. They are tiny, so tiny its hard to take pictures of them (although I tried and will attach pictures). They are about 5mm long, light green, sort of flattened sideways, no attenae, fly, are very active, move in all directions, hang out on both sides of the leaf but mostly under. Do we have these leafhoppers in Vancouver? I realise my Styrax is likely stressed from its move, but is the leafhopper (or whatever bug it is) responsible for adding to or causing a lot of stress/damage? Should I be trying to control them? Can you tell from the pictures if the leaf damage looks like its from the insects or its from something else? Or (as was suggested by a garden centre) is this just normal looking for a stressed tree going into dormancy? Am I doing something wrong for my tree? Thank you for any help!
Yes, there are certainly leafhoppers in British Columbia, and from what I can tell, it may indeed be that causing the damage to your Styrax. I've no experience with pests of plants, so it'd be better if someone else confirmed. Ornamental Pests and Diseases Factsheets from BC's Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
