My 8 foot laurel tree hedge is showing shrivelled leaves and some of the leaves have turned a whitish/grey colour. My neighbour who shares the hedge thinks it is mildew and needs to be treated with a funcicide. Can anybody please advise if it is mildew or something else and their recommendation on treatment? Many thanks. Rayj
If this is Prunus laurocerasus maybe it is susceptible to silver leaf fungus and this is what you have. I don't know if this ever occurs on evergreen Prunus spp. Distorted growths could be the result of insect damage or associated with shearing the hedge late in the season, the new growth not developing normally because of lack of moisture at that time or other seasonal factors. Mildew can also occur on susceptible plants under the same conditions, while not usual on this species I guess I have seen a bit of it on late growth made in response to shearing back during dry summer conditions. Viburnum tinus on the other hand, may often mildew quite heavily when cut back late.
Thanks Ron B. If it is silver leaf fugus, what treatment would you advise please and do I need to take immediate action? I don't think it is as a result of trimming too late as I do this well before the end of the season and have done for the last 7 years. It is only this year that leaves have acted this way and not on every tree. Rayj
