The curling may be a remnant of minor winter damage. Leaf-spotting diseases are fairly common among many landscape shrubs, but their causal organisms can be difficult to differentiate. For Bayberry, Spot Anthracnose (Elsinoe) is listed as a potential culprit, but there are others, such as Septoria and Colletotrichum. Often, while the spots can be an eyesore, the plant's health is not at risk. Evergreens often shed damaged foliage in spring as new growth emerges; it helps to clean this old foliage up and discard it to minimize the likelihood of re-infection of the new growth. (If leaves are too difficult to rake up, a leaf blower can help clear them out of dense branches and off of mulch.)

If damage is severe or causing repeated defoliation, the new growth can be protected while emerging with preventative fungicide applications, though knowing which fungicide is best depends on identification of the exact leaf-spotting fungus. (Plus, spots caused by organisms other than fungi will not necessarily be affected by a fungicide.) Fungicides may have harmful side effects to other organisms, however, and should be attempted as a last resort. It would be quite uncommon for a Bayberry to be disfigured long-term by leaf-spotting pathogens, so monitoring the plant for the time being should be sufficient. Often, infections are very weather-dependent, and decline as rains become infrequent.

Miri