Knowledgebase

Nandina and holly bush disease #780850

Asked January 26, 2022, 5:20 PM EST

I have 3 Nandina bushes and one holly bush on the west facing side of my house. This summer 2 of the Nandinas and the holly developed strange growths on the stems. This caused the nandinas to lose their leaves and reduced the leaf growth of the holly. I have attached photos. Can you please tell me what this may be and what I can do to control it? Thanks.

Henrico County Virginia

Expert Response

I am not able to determine anything from the pictures.  It looks like they could be insect galls.  But definitely not any type of disease.  If you could submit a cutting to include the growths to our office, I can further investigate.

And I'm not sure that they caused the nandina to loose it's leaves, I suspect some other cultural factor to have cause the nandina to drop it's leaves.  Can you check along the base of the plant for rodent damage?

Ed Olsen Replied January 31, 2022, 9:38 AM EST
Ed,

Thank you for your reply. There is a chipmunk hole near the nandina. I will provide cuttings.

Thanks again.

Jim 

On Mon, Jan 31, 2022 at 9:38 AM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied January 31, 2022, 11:17 AM EST
Hi, I agree, it appears to be mite gall, Are you sending them in? Best control would be to prune out the galls when found. 
An Ask Extension Expert Replied February 04, 2022, 10:09 AM EST
Yes, I'm putting them in today's mail so you should have the beginning of next week.  
Ed Olsen Replied February 04, 2022, 10:11 AM EST
Ed,

Thanks for analyzing the problem and for your recommendation. 

Hope you have a nice weekend!

Jim

On Fri, Feb 4, 2022 at 10:11 AM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied February 04, 2022, 2:46 PM EST
I have received the following identification and recommendation from our entomologist: 

Identification/Recommendations



Identification:



Aceria eriophyid mite (Aceria sp./spp.)



Category:



Insects or Mites

Comments:



Although no mites were found, the damage is consistent with this gall mite.


Prune out infested branches, consider replacing plants that are heavily damaged



Sample referred to the Plant Disease Clinic for comments.



The sample was also taken to our Plant Disease Clinic for review.  They looked at your sample and consulted with a weed science specialist at on of our research stations.  The specialist indicated that he believed that the sample and pictures showed possible herbicide damage.  











Ed Olsen Replied February 14, 2022, 2:09 PM EST
Ed,

Thank you so much for following up. I will follow your recommendations.

Jim

On Mon, Feb 14, 2022 at 2:09 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied February 14, 2022, 2:57 PM EST
Ed,

I hope you are doing well. You helped me with a Nandina mite infestation problem last year. 

I now have a different problem. I noticed the top of one of my loblolly pines turning brown a couple of weeks ago, and it now appears to be mostly dead. The bark of the tree and 3 other pines nearby have holes in the bark, some with sap coming out. I have attached pictures. The 3 other pines have fewer holes and the tops look good. 

I did some research, and it looks like the damage is from pine bark beetles. I am going to have the mostly dead tree and stump removed. Is there any way to save the other 3?

Thanks.

Jim

On Mon, Feb 14, 2022 at 2:52 PM Jim Thomas <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
Ed,

Thank you so much for following up. I will follow your recommendations.

Jim

On Mon, Feb 14, 2022 at 2:09 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied September 11, 2022, 3:59 PM EDT

I forwarded your email to our VA Dept. of Forestry rep for Henrico. Here is his response:



It is possible it is a pine beetle, but the pictures don't look definitive to me. In the SPB (Southern Pine Beetle) infestations I have seen the trees basically look like they are covered in popcorn- a lot of sap coming out of a large number of holes. What I suspect is something else is the culprit and that tree is in steep decline and some sort of other borer/secondary pest has gotten in there.



If there is no sap coming from the other trees and the canopy looks green i think they should be OK.



So for the tree in decline, there is no treatment. You will loose this tree. You may want to inspect the other pine trees and look for sap coming from holes (not all holes in the bark go into the trunk of the tree, so the indicator is the sap coming from the hole, which indicates the insect (borer/beetle) has gotten into the trunk of the tree). Beetles and borers are attracted to trees in stress/decline. So make sure your other trees are in general good health. You can also contract with a certified arborist to apply preventative chemicals to the surrounding trees.



https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/content/dam/pubs_ext_vt_edu/444/444-216/ENTO-353.pdf


Ed Olsen Replied September 12, 2022, 10:43 AM EDT

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