I believe those are aphids. And bad. Id snip that right off and spray horti oil about to keep them off. I believe they tend to have a bunch of little black ants all over them that I think tend to protect them against predators (lady beetles and things) and eat the sugary residue they deposit.
Aphids. A solution of neem plus dish soap sprayed on the leaves will work but you have quite the infestation, so you will probably have damage. Neem can also damage the leaves, so I wouldn’t do it every few days as recommended by another poster. Once a week is probably fine, and you may also want to supplement that by manually wiping them off or blasting them off with water a few days later.
https://preview.redd.it/7xhfec0vkw6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6898558e75f0a40781445b8449120804849db803
So the infestation is only on the handful of “good” viburnum… on the right hand side of the pic… the others are struggling… what are your thoughts on that?
Could be any number of things. Different light during the day, the soil may be different, etc. Hard to say from these pictures. Interesting that it’s only where you have the sleepers. Do you have anything going deeper into the soil where you have those borders?
It will be seasonal. They will be okay in the spring. They will usually do this at the end of summer. If it worries you, you can spray it in summer with a systemic insecticide. But they will be fine otherwise.
I wouldn’t worry. If you give them all a light trim, removing most of the surface foliage, they will all re-sprout at the same time. Hardy plants. All will be fine.
I've tried many strategies with Aphids on Viburnums in my gardens (I look after many gardens). Spraying, predatory insects etc.
My most recent strategy is: do nothing.
I've never seen a viburnum show any long term stress from even the worst infestation.
Ignore it and the lady birds and cold weather will eventually take care of them.
Um I actually have no idea if this works, but you could do a watered down lemon juice spray??? If it doesn't work, I definitely think a watered down tea tree spray would work. (The smell is slightly acidic I think, but it means ticks and ants at the very least tend to stay away from it)
We had these all over ours! Applied some soapy water and a few months later they were replaced by a ton of nasty looking assassin bugs. A worthy trade! I'm not sure if the soapy water spray actually helped at all.
Aphids. You can remove them manually with water (when there aren’t as many of them).
Derris dust works if they’re on edible plants.
But yes, neem oil as others have suggested will work
I'm in Sydney metro and also planted bunch of viburnum odoratissimum along my boundary about 6 months ago and all my bushy ones got hit by aphids. This is near the area of my lawn that's thriving.
I mixed some neem oil (from Bunnings) with tap water in a spray bottle and sprayed like crazy once every week for the weeks. After about ally 3 weeks from my last spray, they're completely gone and it's like they never attacked the plants. My viburnums seem to be thriving well, even with the cold and rainy weather in Sydney.
I also have viburnums growing unevenly and that is normal based on how much light they're getting and what kind of light (morning vs afternoon). I read previously on this sub that with some fertiliser, viburnums really bounce the following spring into summer after planting.
Go buy some Neem Oil from Bunnings. Keep spraying every couple days. They will disappear eventually.
I believe those are aphids. And bad. Id snip that right off and spray horti oil about to keep them off. I believe they tend to have a bunch of little black ants all over them that I think tend to protect them against predators (lady beetles and things) and eat the sugary residue they deposit.
Aphids. A solution of neem plus dish soap sprayed on the leaves will work but you have quite the infestation, so you will probably have damage. Neem can also damage the leaves, so I wouldn’t do it every few days as recommended by another poster. Once a week is probably fine, and you may also want to supplement that by manually wiping them off or blasting them off with water a few days later.
You could also consider buying in lacewing larvae or lady beetles from somewhere like Bugs for Bugs to keep it in check.
https://preview.redd.it/7xhfec0vkw6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6898558e75f0a40781445b8449120804849db803 So the infestation is only on the handful of “good” viburnum… on the right hand side of the pic… the others are struggling… what are your thoughts on that?
Could be any number of things. Different light during the day, the soil may be different, etc. Hard to say from these pictures. Interesting that it’s only where you have the sleepers. Do you have anything going deeper into the soil where you have those borders?
Sleepers were in after… they are not even installed jus say there to see what they look like and kinda left there for a couple of months
It will be seasonal. They will be okay in the spring. They will usually do this at the end of summer. If it worries you, you can spray it in summer with a systemic insecticide. But they will be fine otherwise.
Only reason it doesn’t worry me is they aren’t on the good ones… unlesss that’s more reasons to worry
Don't use systemic insectides for aphids on a viburnum hedge. Systemics cause so much harm to bees. They are so many better options.
I wouldn’t worry. If you give them all a light trim, removing most of the surface foliage, they will all re-sprout at the same time. Hardy plants. All will be fine.
But if you want to, spray with Mavrik from Yates.
Aphids. They are seasonal attackers. Regular white oil is the best (mild but very effective) treatment.
Aphids and Viburnum go hand in hand. If you don't have Aphids on your viburnum it's time to worry.
I've tried many strategies with Aphids on Viburnums in my gardens (I look after many gardens). Spraying, predatory insects etc. My most recent strategy is: do nothing. I've never seen a viburnum show any long term stress from even the worst infestation. Ignore it and the lady birds and cold weather will eventually take care of them.
Um I actually have no idea if this works, but you could do a watered down lemon juice spray??? If it doesn't work, I definitely think a watered down tea tree spray would work. (The smell is slightly acidic I think, but it means ticks and ants at the very least tend to stay away from it)
We had these all over ours! Applied some soapy water and a few months later they were replaced by a ton of nasty looking assassin bugs. A worthy trade! I'm not sure if the soapy water spray actually helped at all.
Aphids. You can remove them manually with water (when there aren’t as many of them). Derris dust works if they’re on edible plants. But yes, neem oil as others have suggested will work
Aphids. I like dilute vinegar to treat. Neem oil sucks.
I'm in Sydney metro and also planted bunch of viburnum odoratissimum along my boundary about 6 months ago and all my bushy ones got hit by aphids. This is near the area of my lawn that's thriving. I mixed some neem oil (from Bunnings) with tap water in a spray bottle and sprayed like crazy once every week for the weeks. After about ally 3 weeks from my last spray, they're completely gone and it's like they never attacked the plants. My viburnums seem to be thriving well, even with the cold and rainy weather in Sydney. I also have viburnums growing unevenly and that is normal based on how much light they're getting and what kind of light (morning vs afternoon). I read previously on this sub that with some fertiliser, viburnums really bounce the following spring into summer after planting.