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i brought a butterfly plant and something is eating the leafs which does'nt look very nice, please help.
thank you
carol


On plant Buddleja


Answers

 

Hi Terrance and welcome to GoY, sorry your photo is completely out of focus but I would imagine leaves are being eaten by a caterpillar look for small green happily feasting beasties and pick off. They wont do any long term damage to the buddlea though.

12 Aug, 2010

 

Check for caterpillars, as Moongrower says, also for slugs and snails. Has it flowered okay, or are they affected in any way?

12 Aug, 2010

 

To be really honest I don't worry to much about caterpillars etc eating the leaves of ornamentals... whilst they are doing that they are leaving the veg. alone - they all have a reason for being. Caterpillars turn into wonderful butterflies and moths and the actual caterpillars feed birds. Slugs and snails are toad and hedgehog food and chickens view them as a delicacy! It is a question of balance... if they are eating the foliage or blooms of one of our precious show plants we will take action, in the open flower garden we tend to ignore. Our hostas all have lacy leaves by the end of the season.

12 Aug, 2010

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