Leaves in my flower garden have holes in them. What should I do?
I see leaves with regular holes, almost like a little hole-punch, in my flower garden. This photo shows phlox leaves, but other flowers have them, too. What do I do?
This is evidence of the four-lined plant bug, a short-lived sucking insect, who is already done for the year by the end of June. It inserts its mouthpart into a leaf, sucks out fluid and repeats. This results in clusters of tiny spots (known as stipples) and holes sporadically here and there. Feeding damage is cosmetic, however, and usually becomes hidden by new growth. No treatment is needed. Search “plant bugs on flowers” on the Home and Garden Information Center website for photos of these brightly colored bugs.
Our peach tree has produced A LOT of fruit. Several of the peaches are oozing a clear sticky syrup or gel. What would you recommend that will also leave the peaches safe to eat?
The sticky substance is plant sap. It’s known as gummosis when the globs appear on peach fruits, branches or the trunk.
It’s a defense mechanism by which the tree pushes out tacky resinous gums to expel insect pests and diseases and respond to environmental stress. Some specific causes for gummosis include Oriental fruit moth feeding, plum curculio egg-laying and feeding, and excess soil water. Cut open affected fruits and look for signs of insect feeding. Peaches have many
potential insect pests and diseases, so count yourself lucky if there are no insect pests. If you detect insect pests, remove and discard all affected fruit on the tree
and on the ground. (Search “peach gummosis” on the Home and Garden Information Center website for more information and a link to the Virginia Tech
Home Fruit Management Guide with spray schedules.)
University of Maryland Extension’s Home and Garden Information Center
offers free gardening and pest information at extension.umd.edu/hgic. Click “Ask Maryland’s Gardening Experts” to send questions and photos.