Cherry laurel has brown spots

Brown spots from cold damage

Not all Laurel cherry species are complete frost hardy and survive severe winters unscathed. They suffer frostbite during the icy winter months, which often only shows up when they sprout in spring. The leaves become brown-spotted, dry and eventually fall off.

remedy

The laurel cherry is well tolerated by pruning and willingly sprout from perennial wood. However, wait until you can estimate how far the shrubs have frozen back before pruning. You can recognize the frost damage by the fact that the affected branches do not continue to drift or show a gray-brown color beneath the bark. Shorten the branches down to the healthy wood.

Brown leaf spots caused by leaf spot fungus

In the event of a fungal attack, circular, brown spots appear on the upper side of the leaf. As a result, the leaf tissue thins and is finally rejected by the cherry laurel. By the ones left behind

Holes the cherry laurel looks like being shot at with a shotgun. Because of this look, the Leaf spot disease also as Shotgun Sickness designated.

Preventive measures

• Regular pruning so that the leaves can dry out more quickly.
• Collect fallen leaves if a shotgun is suspected.
• Cut off infected leaves consistently.
• Put cuttings and groupage in the household waste, as the fungal spores in the compost survive.

Fighting the fungus

If only a few leaves show the typical brown spots, it is sufficient to cut them off and dispose of them. In many cases, this will prevent the fungal disease from spreading. If the plant is more severely infested, you can get highly effective fungicides on the market with which you can successfully combat shotgun disease.

Tips & Tricks

On the underside of the leaves of the cherry laurel there are small brown spots from which the plant secretes sweet nectar. These natural leaf spots can easily be confused with those caused by fungi.