We briefly considered Viburnum tinus in an earlier blog. Now is a good time to re-visit the shrub. I was asked recently to plant 15 Euonymus alatus compacta plants for a strata council member. When I arrived at her unit, I realized we had pulled 15 Viburnum tinus specimens because they were full of holes. Holes which resulted from Pyrrhalta viburni beetles feeding on their leaves. Normally it’s a nice looking shrub with flowers and berries. Once the beetles attack, it’s over fairly quickly.
I remember once shearing a weak hedge of Viburnum tinus and getting covered in annoyed beetles. The adults are difficult to control. They can fly away or drop to the ground. In organic Port Moody, British Columbia, there weren’t any chemical controls for the larvae or adult beetles.
Healthy Viburnum tinus
Attacked by….. (Note skeletonized look)
….Pyrrhalta viburni; Adults and larva feed on the plant
When this happens you have two choices:
- flush cut the Viburnum and let it grow back
- replace it with another shrub
The strata council member opted for option number two. Since the site already sports many healthy specimens of Euonymus alatus compacta, the decision was easy; and budget allowed for it. The whole operation took me about an hour. ( The boss was working directly across the street at another site.)
Replacements ready to go; Space out the pots properly before planting
watch the planting hole depth
done, just add water
All done! Plants are watered in and sidewalk is hosed off to avoid upsetting the owner
Instead of looking at stumps or worrying about chemical controls, consider replacement. It is a neater option. If your shrubs are suffering with skeletonized leaves, plant something new. Change is good! Edit your landscape and have some fun with it, if budget allows. It might be a minor blessing.
