If I had not seen the devastation this small white pest could do I would not have believed the outcome. It was in 2014 that the Euonymus Scale first appeared in the garden, there had been an infestation of whitefly on the brassicas that year a particularly bad one, and at first sight and I admit now a very novice opinion or perhaps one of just hoping, that was that I thought It looked very much the same as whitefly.
To the front of the house there is or rather there was an area that I loosely call ‘the wood’, an ambitious term looking at its size but the value it has from a nature prospective cannot be underestimated, it consists of an enormous Beech tree two thirds of its trunk covered in Ivy a yearly maintenance task of cutting it back, a Sycamore stands in its shadow, and various shrubs create a palette of evergreens. The tantalizing green backdrop has developed so that can be viewed from the house when the winter days are at their shortest and colour and inspiration is limited within the garden. Over the last twelve years it had been allowed to develop naturally, cut gently into curves rather like an undulating landscape. The woodland walk itself although very short was a delight starting with a blanket of Snowdrops in February followed by Aconites, Celandines Bluebells and Foxgloves finally ending the season with display with ferns. The entrance was though a green arch, an arch that had been enveloped by huge Euonymus shrubs in fact several of them, and it wasn't until they had to be removed that I realised how large the expanse of ground that was covered. It’s not easy coming to a garden that has been previously stocked by another gardener, you are never quite sure what variety has been planted yet alone how many or how closely they have been placed. In general the Euonymus is an evergreen, quick growing, useful for flower arranging, and most of all makes a good sound barrier, which when living close to a road it is a much needed feature.
The first plan of attack was to spray with a garlic solution. I use this liberally around the garden when pests first appear, over the years this has worked well. I sprayed the Euonymus in early autumn. At first sight they appeared to be dead, but were not dropping from the plant. I again searched the internet for ideas but it is very hard when you don’t know the name of the problem you are looking for to find any useful advice. I had asked a very knowledgeable friend to see what he thought; he had never come across it and took it to a nurseryman that likewise could only offer the advice of soapy water or a very dilute version of Jeyes fluid. A number of the shrubs were still unharmed and I hoped that meant only a few may be infected, but I was soon to learn that the Euonymus scale has two generations each year. The first generation appears in June, to then migrate onto fresh foliage in order that they lay the second batch of eggs which will hatch in autumn. It is a no win cycle.
I feel embarrassed now that I had anticipated the coming of the winter frosts, snow, and rain would wash these insects from the leaf. I even resorted to rubbing the leaves to try and remove the bugs but when dealing with a six foot shrub the job was overwhelming. In 2015 I resorted to a chemical spray, it was a hard decision, and I have been organic now since 2005, ten years of building a balance with nature but something had to be done. Fortunately I was not spraying near any vegetable crops but I still felt uncomfortable for the wildlife that would suffer, even though the powers that be say it’s all perfectly safe. I must have sprayed twice maybe three times that year and in hindsight it may have marginally halted the infestation but the plants were weakening leaves were beginning to fall on a daily basis. So in 2016 I gave up, it was time to take them all out, utter devastation. The gaps that were left after all the diseased specimens had been removed must have made up at least two thirds of the wood. Design ideas flowed thick and fast the eternal optimist inside me rearing its head, but funds were not flowing quite as quickly as my ideas, and I also had the problem of what shrubs would be able to compete in such an established environment with the large trees taking most of the available moisture. The ground was typically woodland uncultivated and root infested it had been intentionally left to create a naturally balanced system. I could not afford to do both areas so in the central part of the wood I planted a mixture of ferns and a myriad of ephemeral bulbs that would work again from early spring to late spring. It has worked in part though at the moment lacks height, shape and depth and there is still a large empty gap. This certainly requires more work. The entrance which was made up of several large Euonymus has been totally replanted with tough growing evergreens such as Photinia, Viburnum, and Laurel and Ilex ‘Golden King’ Work is still in progress!
General recap:
Euonymus Scale
Small sap sucking creamy white insect that was discovered in England during the 1950's. The insect has a flattened body that is covered by shell or scale; it attaches itself to both the leaf and the stem. As I mentioned before the insect has two generations each year, so I believe the optimum time to spray would be in June and early September, this is the time when the newly hatched nymphs are at their most vulnerable. If spraying has been successful then the scales may still be attached to the plant but new growth will be visible. Looking back I wish I had acted earlier.
I wish you luck, from The Ordinary Gardener.
