Bee Friendly Shrub..what is it?

steveTu

Good morning all- I did post a year or so back.

I have the attached - it's about 4ft tall (although it is cut back each year!) and I haven't a clue as to what it is.  Any ideas?

Also, when taking this photo I noticed that a couple of the newer shoots are covered in a black bug like creature on the stem up to the tip leaf. Any ideas what they are and how to get rid of them?

I may have loads of questions as I'm not a gardener (my wife was!) and I'm trying to catalogue (I've written a bit of sofware to help me - I hope!) what is out there and how to care for them!

nutcutlet

I think that's a Deutzia

steveTu

It has long 'oblate' leaves that have finely toothed edges - from recollection I think when pruning, the stems are hollow?

steveTu

Nutcutlet(?!)

I think you're right - pl@ntnet shows the image as a Deutzia Scabra Thunb. (whatever Thunb is) - Fuzzy Pride Of Rochester.

Thank you. One down - 250 more to go

The 'bug' doesn't look like blackfly but appears to be some other 'aphid' - attached image - not too clear as it's a bit beezy down here and the plant was moving!

Obelixx

The bugs can be removed with a blast from your hosepipe while you wait for the predators to arrive.   Ladybirds and lacewings and their larvae plus tits and sparrows feeding their young and even wasps will hoover them up.

To keep your shrub in good nick, once flowering finishes you can remove a third of all the stems down to the base.  Select the oldest - fattest and tatty bark.  Done every year it will keep your shrub rejuvenated and vigorous as well as controlling it and allowing ventilation to the middle which will help keep down diseases.  Give it a handful or two or general fertiliser every spring too.

Palustris

'Thun' is an abbreviation for Thunbergii, the name of the Botanist who originally described the plant.

steveTu

Obelixx said:

The bugs can be removed with a blast from your hosepipe while you wait for the predators to arrive.   Ladybirds and lacewings and their larvae plus tits and sparrows feeding their young and even wasps will hoover them up.

To keep your shrub in good nick, once flowering finishes you can remove a third of all the stems down to the base.  Select the oldest - fattest and tatty bark.  Done every year it will keep your shrub rejuvenated and vigorous as well as controlling it and allowing ventilation to the middle which will help keep down diseases.  Give it a handful or two or general fertiliser every spring too.

Won't they just spread? Last year a flowering cherry got infested with what appeared to be blackfly and the tree was ruined for the whole summer (bounced back this year - although I have just started to see signs of leaf curl) - and this year the 'bugs' appeared very early on a couple of maples we have - totally infested with the blinking things without any positive control from natural predators. All I seem to end up with is black goo plants! I tried to cut off all the infected stems from the maples - and in one case cut it back completely (I had planned on removing it anyway)....

DampGardenMan

@steveTu Plantnet - very useful site, thanks for the heads-up!

Obelixx

Blast them off then.  Hang up bird feeders.  Make insect hotels....  This will attract the good guys to your garden.

Chemicals will kill the good guys.

Really bad idea to prune maples hard.  They don't like it.

Helix

Or a spray bottle with slightly soapy water (use pure soap not anything fancy) every time you wander past.  It doesn’t work instantaneously, but keep at and it will.

Ladybird4

Soapy water may also harm beneficial insects so it is better to blast aphids off with a hose as suggested by Obelixx.