Content
- Causes of brown leaf margins and tips in the cherry laurel
- Nutrient deficiency or oversupply leads to leaf damage
- Feeding damage of the weevil
- The shotgun disease
- Tips & Tricks
Causes of brown leaf margins and tips in the cherry laurel
Sometimes the cherry laurel shows brown tips and foliage margins, despite the fact that the grove vigorously drives out and at first glance thrives. In most cases, this damage pattern has a non-parasitic cause, which you can treat yourself without any problems.
Nutrient deficiency or oversupply leads to leaf damage
Too much or too little of certain nutrients often causes leaf discoloration, leaf deformity or stunted growth of individual leaves. The leaves decay from the edge and eventually fall off, in many cases being over-fertilized.
The pH of the soil also influences the growth of cherry laurel. If this value is in the strongly acidic or alkaline range, the laurel cherry reacts with brown edges of the foliage. To rule out this, you should have a soil study done.
Feeding damage of the weevil
If you can rule out a care mistake, you should search the shrubs with a flashlight after dark. The brown edges and tips of the leaves could be feeding damage to the weevil, whose favorite food is woody plants with a slightly rough foliage. The beetles themselves are not dangerous for the laurel cherry, but the larvae living in the soil, which damage the roots and thereby massively weaken the plant.
The shotgun disease
Although early-stage shotgun disease is usually indicated by black spots on leaves, brown spikes and margins should be thought of as a fungal disease. On closer examination, infestations show brown spots as well as spots on the foliage, which turn reddish brown in the later stages and are eventually repelled by the plant.
Tips & Tricks
If the leaves turn brown from the edge, then potassium deficiency could be the fault. In this case, fertilize the laurel cherry with comfrey, debris or wood ash, since all these fertilizers contain a lot of potassium.