Lee Burkhill: Award Winning Designer & BBC 1's Garden Rescue Presenters Official Blog
Welcome to the Garden Ninja Gardening Forum! If you have a gardening question that you can't find answers to then ask below to seek help from the Garden Ninja army! Please make your garden questions as specific and detailed as possible so the community can provide comprehensive answers in the online forum below.
Welcome to the ultimate beginner gardening and garden design forum! Where no gardening question is too silly or obvious. This online gardening forum is run by Lee Burkhill, the Garden Ninja from BBC 1's Garden Rescue and a trusted group of experienced gardeners.
Whether you are a beginner or an expert gardener, it's a safe place to ask garden-related questions for garden design or planting. If you have a problem in your garden or need help, this is the Garden Forum for you!
Posting Rules: This space is open for all garden-related questions. Please be polite, courteous and respectful. If you wouldn't say it to your mum's face, then don't post it here. Please don't promote, sell, link spam or advertise here. Please don't ask for 'cheeky' full Garden redesigns here. They will be deleted.
I have new hedging (cherry laurel) and 8 new fruit trees (different varieties).
The growing tips are being ‘removed’. I can not find any bugs on or under the leaves. This is predominantly occurring on the fruit trees however I have also found evidence on the laurels. Please see the photos - one shows a tip cut halfway through. The plants are otherwise healthy.
Any advice as to how I can stop this will be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
I have new hedging (cherry laurel) and 8 new fruit trees (different varieties).
The growing tips are being ‘removed’. I can not find any bugs on or under the leaves. This is predominantly occurring on the fruit trees however I have also found evidence on the laurels. Please see the photos - one shows a tip cut halfway through. The plants are otherwise healthy.
Any advice as to how I can stop this will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your question. In my experience, the thing nibbling the edges of leaves and new shoots is probably vine weevils. I've written a detailed response on vine weevils here as to what to do about it.
In all honesty, your trees will easily recover, and vine weevils are part of the food chain here in our gardens, so I wouldn't panic too much! I do appreciate that it can be unsightly, though.
The reason you can'y spot the pests that are eating the young leaves on your trees and cherry laurel is simple vine weevils (Otiorhynchus sulcatus) are nocturnal — those sneaky little beetles do most of their dirty work at night.
What Vine Weevils Get Up To in the Dark
Adults emerge at dusk and munch through leaves under the cover of darkness, leaving those distinctive notches on the edges of foliage (like someone's taken a hole punch to your plants).
They hide during the day in soil, compost, or under pots and debris — rarely seen unless you go looking at night with a torch.
Egg laying also happens at night, usually around the base of plants.
Why That Matters for Control
Since they're active at night, it’s the best time to hand-pick adults off plants if you want to go chemical-free. Head out with a torch and a bucket of soapy water.
Knowing they’re nocturnal helps when timing the use of nematodes (like Steinernema kraussei) to target the grubs in the soil — apply in late summer or spring when soil temps are right and larvae are present.
Thanks for your question. In my experience, the thing nibbling the edges of leaves and new shoots is probably vine weevils. I've written a detailed response on vine weevils here as to what to do about it.
In all honesty, your trees will easily recover, and vine weevils are part of the food chain here in our gardens, so I wouldn't panic too much! I do appreciate that it can be unsightly, though.
The reason you can'y spot the pests that are eating the young leaves on your trees and cherry laurel is simple vine weevils (Otiorhynchus sulcatus) are nocturnal — those sneaky little beetles do most of their dirty work at night.
What Vine Weevils Get Up To in the Dark
Adults emerge at dusk and munch through leaves under the cover of darkness, leaving those distinctive notches on the edges of foliage (like someone's taken a hole punch to your plants).
They hide during the day in soil, compost, or under pots and debris — rarely seen unless you go looking at night with a torch.
Egg laying also happens at night, usually around the base of plants.
Why That Matters for Control
Since they're active at night, it’s the best time to hand-pick adults off plants if you want to go chemical-free. Head out with a torch and a bucket of soapy water.
Knowing they’re nocturnal helps when timing the use of nematodes (like Steinernema kraussei) to target the grubs in the soil — apply in late summer or spring when soil temps are right and larvae are present.
Lee Burkhill: Award Winning Designer & BBC 1's Garden Rescue Presenters Official Blog
To my Newsletter
To my YouTube channel