Sunday, January 14, 2018

Buggy Cotoneaster 101. Guess what we used to clean this mess off!



So this is my Cotoneaster. It is HUGE. If you have one, you know what a pathetic situation this is. I think this was caused by Porphyry Knothorn. You never see the moths or caterpillars, but you can see the webbing and huge amount of dead leaves. This winter while it was in a dormant state I decided to try brushing off all the dead stuff and hopefully eggs. This has been going on so long the black debris along the trunk and branch crotches is so solid I literally could not remove it with a brush. I have discovered that the whitefly infestation in the greenhouse every winter has been largely managed by removing or cutting back annuals etc and meticulously cleaning up leaves in the gardens. Cleaning is everything!!! So I wanted to apply the same method here. I stood staring at it for a while. Eureka! I had an idea!!!! I asked Allan if he could set the pressure washer soft enough to remove all debris without tearing off the bark. Watch this!!!

Before

Left side done

After

On close inspection, he didn’t even tear off the new leaves! I raked up the leaves from the maple next door that I had always just left to mulch these plants. I am going to remove the lower branches on the ground and I will be vigilant with the cleanliness. 

2 comments:

Pam's English Garden said...

Excellent! You are so right about cleanliness as a preventative measure, Erin. I always loved my mother's cotoneaster in England. I should get one. You asked if I have pictures of the inside of my potting shed. There are some at the bottom of this posting: https://pamsenglishcottagegarden.blogspot.com/2013/05/three-dwarf-trees-for-my-cottage-garden.html
Just scroll to the bottom. P. x

Erin said...

Hi Pam...thank you for the link to your shed pictures. Everything you do is so top notch!! You are inspiring.

I love my Cotoneaster. About 20 years ago, I was walking into my sisters apartment building via the back door. There was a cotoneaster and under it were tiny little seedlings sprouting from seed. I pulled up two and planted those little 1” shoots. They were both female and have berries, which surprised me. The mason bees and other bees just love the flowers in the spring.