viburnums rapidly loosing all folage - Ask Extension
I have 3 Snowball bushes (opulus sterile). In a matter of 4 days all of the folage has disappeared. I don't mean that the shrubs have shed their leave...
Knowledgebase
viburnums rapidly loosing all folage #752323
Asked May 26, 2021, 3:11 PM EDT
I have 3 Snowball bushes (opulus sterile). In a matter of 4 days all of the folage has disappeared. I don't mean that the shrubs have shed their leaves, but rather all of the folage is gone as if consumed. No pests vey visable prior to this. The shrub leafed out normally and even blumed lightly. The same thing happened last year. The same thing happened to an American cranberry last year, but not yet this year. Any thoughts?
Livingston CountyMichigan
Expert Response
Interesting. Do you have any photos of the plants that you could send? Is the foliage actually gone, or are there still leaf petioles (stalks) hanging on, but with large holes or parts of the leaves missing?
No wilting or any sort of die back before the foliage disappeared?
no photo's but if there were it would look like a completely dormant plant. no leaf stalks hanging on. No wilting and the gradual dieback consisted of the leaves darkening and then disappearing it a time span of 3 days maybe. No leaves were dropped. there are none visable on the ground. I suspect some sort of insect infestation, but if there are insects they are consideably smaller then aphids. I saw no insects and there were no holes in the leaves as if something was eating them.
Interesting. Viburnum opulus is one of the most susceptible species to viburnum leaf beetle, which can be pretty heavy defoliators. This is one possibility.
Cornell University has a helpful VLB site with information about what stages of the beetle to look for, where and when: Viburnum Leaf Beetle
I was thinking also possibly a mammal pest, but this viburnum species is one that is rarely damaged by deer.
Glad we could figure it out! The Cornell link has a helpful management page that outlines a number of ways to manage this pest: Managing viburnum leaf beetles and there are additional details on the FAQ page here: Management FAQ
